


Yours In Fractions

by FullOnLarrie



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: A real lack of winter weather, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Blow Jobs, But Only a Little Bit - Freeform, Christmas, Complete, M/M, Miscommunication, New Years Eve, Oral Sex, Rimming, Sharing a Bed, considering it's the holiday season
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-06
Updated: 2016-12-06
Packaged: 2018-09-06 20:29:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 23,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8768125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FullOnLarrie/pseuds/FullOnLarrie
Summary: Louis and Harry are strangers who, because of a mix up, share their mutual friend's apartment and bed over the holidays.





	

**Author's Note:**

> So much love to my ladies who have read along, supported me, cheered me on, and talked me through this fic. 
> 
> I can't say thank you enough to [Nic](http://louandhazaf.tumblr.com), the most wonderful beta in the world, a Super Beta, if you will. Love you!
> 
> Come say hi on [Tumblr!](http://fullonlarrie.tumblr.com)
> 
>  
> 
> **If you’d like to translate any of my fics, feel free, but please post the translation on ao3, and send me a link so that I can include it in the author’s notes.**
> 
> **Please do not post this fic or any of my other fics on any other websites.**

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Harry made it to Niall’s tiny studio apartment just as snow flurries began to fall. He’d always wanted a white Christmas and it looked like a real possibility this year; too bad he’d be alone for it. His family had abandoned him to go skiing, at least that’s what he called it, because he’d already used all of his paid time off for the year and just couldn’t afford anymore time off work now that his roommate Liam had moved out to live with his fiancé Anton. Expecting to take advantage of Harry’s usual absence at the end of the year, his landlord had arranged to have a number of repairs done to his apartment, including replacing the old leaky plumbing. Harry needed a place to stay and his best friend Niall needed someone to look after his kitten while he was out of town for a few weeks.

He tossed his bag onto the lone chair in the corner, threw his coat and scarf over the back of the chair, picked up Niall’s calico kitten Matilda, and looked around while he scratched her behind the ears. Niall’s place was the smallest studio apartment Harry had ever seen; no wonder they never hung out here. There was a bed shoved into one corner, an old wingback chair in the next corner, and a small dresser crammed in between. Instead of curtains, Niall’s shirts hung from the curtain rod above the window over the bed; there was no closet. The bathroom door was directly in front of the foot of the bed and the bathroom had a narrow shower stall, a tiny sink with a lopsided mirror hanging over it, and a toilet, which, thankfully, was full sized. Matilda’s litter box was crammed underneath the sink.

The kitchen was right next to the bathroom and was comparable to one Harry had seen in an old airstream camper; a small fridge, a half-sized stove, a single sink with a cabinet below and one hanging above, and a few inches of counter space. It was fine for Niall because he lived on breakfast cereal, take out, and food from the bar where he worked. Harry, however, was used to living on a budget and cooking most of his own meals. He peered into the refrigerator and sighed; it was empty except for a bottle of ketchup, a jar of mayonnaise, two half empty take out containers, an open can of kitten food, and 3 bottles of beer. He checked the freezer and found nothing but a bottle of vodka. At least there was alcohol. He opened the cabinets and found one dented pan, one sauce pot, and a selection of food for the kitten. Harry made a list of essentials and decided to run out to the store before the snow started to build up.

He sighed as he bundled himself back up to face the cold. He wasn’t just alone, he was lonely, and not only because it was the holiday season. He had friends, good ones, but no special someone. He hadn’t had a decent date in months and he didn’t want to count how long it had been since he’d had sex that wasn’t with his right hand or his favorite dildo.

An hour later, the snow had begun to collect on the sidewalk. Harry carefully made his way up the three flights of stairs with two large grocery bags. He wiggled Niall’s spare key into the lock, opened the door, and set the bags down on the floor. He was putting the last of his groceries away when it hit him that the white noise he heard was running water and, after a moment of panic thinking there was some sort of plumbing problem similar to the one in his apartment, he realized it was the shower. Maybe Matilda had somehow turned it on. Hopefully it wasn’t a busted pipe or anything like that. He closed the refrigerator and crossed the room to make sure the kitten was alright and turn off the water. As he swung open the door, his eyes registered the backpack on the bed that wasn’t there earlier and his ears noted that the sound of running water had stopped.

“What the fuck?” Someone shrieked and shoved the door closed as Harry stumbled backwards out of the bathroom and fell onto the bed.

There was a naked man in there. Harry hadn’t seen much, but he’d seen enough to know that: one, that was a naked man; two, that man was hot; three, that man was hung. Oh my god. There was a hot, naked, well-hung man in Niall’s bathroom. A stranger. Harry jumped up off the bed and reached into the kitchen cabinet for a pan. Holding it aloft, he hammered on the door, shouting, “What are you doing in there?”

Muffled cursing was followed by a voice shouting back at him, “What the fuck do you think? Who the hell are you? This isn’t your apartment!”

Harry gave the door a couple more good whacks and countered, “No, it’s not, but it’s not your place either. You _do not_ look like Niall Horan.”

A few seconds of silence passed and the man agreed with a short laugh, “No, I don’t. I don’t look like Niall. Can you just, um, my bag is on the bed, so if you could just pass it in here, I can get dressed.”

The backpack was just behind him. He picked it up and lightly rapped on the door. “Yeah, uh, here ya go.” The door creaked open and a small hand snatched the bag from Harry’s outstretched hand before the door slammed shut.

“So, you know Niall?” Harry called through the door as he sat on the edge of the bed to wait.

“Yeah, yeah, I know Niall. Listen, I don’t mean to be rude, but, uh, who the fuck are you and why are you here?” There was a shuffling noise and a dull thunk followed by a curse.

“You know, you shouldn’t say you don’t mean to be rude and then immediately say something rude. I’m Harry Styles. Niall asked me to stay here with Matilda while he’s away.” Harry fumed as he unwrapped his scarf and shrugged out of his heavy coat. “Who the fuck are you and why are you here?”

A frustrated groan came from behind the door, then it slowly opened. “I’m sorry. You're right, that was rude. I'm Louis Tomlinson. Niall said I could stay here for a few weeks while I look for a place in town. You don’t have to stay with the cat. I’ll be here anyway. You can go home or wherever. I mean, call Niall first, but you don’t have to stay.” He tossed his bag back onto the bed and ran a hand through his wet hair.

Harry was slightly stunned now that he could see Louis. Niall had a friend this beautiful and had never told him; Harry considered returning his Christmas gift. Harry had a vague memory of Niall telling a story about his friend Louis taking him to a gay club for his 18th birthday. Yes, it was the night Niall decided he was only 85% straight. That was a good story; he’d ask Niall to tell it again the next time he saw him. Or maybe this Louis could tell his version.

Louis stood there in the bathroom doorway, his hip cocked to the side, one delicate hand resting on the door jamb, while the other hand fiddled with his hair. It looked to be brown, but it was wet and Harry wondered what it would look like once it dried. He realized he was staring and averted his eyes. “No, I mean, yeah, I’ll call Niall, if only to ask him what the hell he was thinking, but no, I can’t go home. My landlord is doing some work there... plumbers and stuff, so I can’t really leave.” Harry looked up again and met Louis’ eyes. They were a brilliant blue, though they looked a little tired. His eyelashes were so long; they were dark and clumped together in places where the water from the shower hadn’t dried and he suddenly remembered what he'd seen hanging between Louis’ legs. Harry was staring again and could feel the blush rising on his cheeks. He rubbed a thumb and forefinger over his eyes and took a deep breath. “How long are you here for, Louis?”

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It looked as if they were going to be stuck together, at least for a couple of weeks until Harry’s apartment was back to normal. Louis had taken a job as a long term substitute math teacher at one of the area high schools, and had come to look for a place to live before the semester started.

They took turns calling, and when he didn’t answer, repeatedly texting Niall to make sure he knew how annoyed they were. They eventually gave up when neither got a response and Louis’ stomach growled. It was past dinner time and Harry was hungry too, so he offered to make some sandwiches. He pulled two bottles of beer from the fridge and they both stood in the kitchen while they ate and played twenty questions. Louis was actually quite charming and funny and Harry was glad that at least he didn’t have to spend the next few weeks with an asshole.

Louis cleared his throat and looked around the room. “So… how do you want to do this? I can sleep on the floor, if you want.”

“No, no, um, you take the bed. I’ll, well…” Harry looked at the bed, the wingback chair, the sliver of floor space, back to the bed, and finally at Louis. “We can take turns? Or we can share. It’s up to you.”

Louis scratched his chin, then looked to the bed. “What size bed is that anyway? It’s bigger than my old bunk bed at school, but it’s definitely not a Queen size.”

“I think it’s called a full or double. My grandparents had one. I don’t think people really buy them anymore.” Harry chuckled. “Well, except for Niall.”

Louis pulled down the blankets, hopped onto the bed and wiggled around until he was lying on the side next to the wall. “It’s cold and I don’t fancy sleeping on the floor at all, so we’ll share.” He patted the mattress next to him. “Do you snore?”

Harry nodded.

“Well, I drool, so there ya go. Hit the light, will ya? I’m exhausted.” Louis closed his eyes as if he expected to just drop off to sleep immediately. Harry was still standing in the same place when Louis cracked open one eye and said, “Harry, bed time for me. Let’s go.” He patted the mattress again and shut his eye.

Harry tried not to think about how close he'd be to Louis’ dick while they slept, but he was having trouble forgetting what he’d seen. It had been a while since he'd been within arms reach of beautiful man, and longer since he'd been in a bed with a dick like that, if ever. It was impressive.

He turned off the light, grabbed his bag and went into the bathroom. He quickly changed into an old tank top and a pair of sweatpants. While he brushed his teeth, he thought ahead to Christmas. It didn’t look promising. He wouldn’t see his family until the new year; his best friend was out of town; he had no boyfriend to spend the holiday with; he couldn’t even have a tree in this little place; and now he was going to share a bed with an unfairly well-hung, handsome man whom he didn’t know all that well. At least it was snowing. And he didn’t have work in the morning. He sighed and rinsed his toothbrush before making his way to the bed in the dark. He felt around for a pillow and his fingers brushed fur. Matilda. Cradling her against his chest, he attempted to get comfortable without jostling the bed. Carefully, he rolled onto his side, facing away from Louis. Matilda stretched, turned in a circle, and curled herself up into his armpit. He stroked her fur and closed his eyes.

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Harry could feel the edges of sleep retreating and he wanted to pull them back. He’d been in the middle of a wonderful dream that he couldn’t quite remember. A firm, warm pressure was surrounding him. His dream was coming back. He relaxed and let the dream take him away. He drifted in a warm boat, the sun was shining, but it wasn’t bright. The boat rocked and then it groaned. Oh. It was that kind of dream. There was someone in his boat, they were rocking together. He could feel their hard length pressing against him. He rocked, they rocked, he moaned and so did they. It was a good dream. A dream boat. Even in his sleep, he made puns. Something was tickling his nose. He sneezed and his eyes flew open; he froze and his boat rocking partner froze too. His heart was beating out of his chest and he was so hard, he was aching.

Louis scrambled back toward the wall. “I’m sorry! Oh my god. I’m so sorry, Harry.”

Harry lay there in silence for a few seconds. “No, um, I’m, uh, shit. It’s okay.” He gently scooted Matilda away from his face. “So, do you want coffee?” He struggled to sit up while hiding his erection and turned to see Louis lying on his stomach, his head under his pillow. “Hey, are you alright?”

A faint humming sound came from him until he lifted the corner of the pillow, allowing Harry a glimpse of his flushed pink cheek. “Not really. Just, like, molested you. A total stranger. While you were sleeping. Oh my god.” He pulled the pillow back down around his head.

Harry could hear him talking, but couldn’t make out most of the words. He picked up two that sounded like gorgeous and gay, so he figured he might as well go for it. Louis was lovely; plus, Harry had already seen him naked, so there were no surprises there, Harry was lonely, and it was almost Christmas. ‘Tis the Season, he figured. He set the kitten on the floor, took a deep breath and, loud enough to be heard through the pillow, said, “I didn’t mind.” The noise coming from under the pillow stopped.

Louis lifted the corner of the pillow, squinting his eyes and pursing his lips. “What?”

With a grin, he repeated, “I didn’t mind. I was having a pretty hot dream until Matilda rubbed against my nose and made me sneeze. Then, I woke up, and here we are.” He gestured between them.

“You didn’t mind.” It wasn’t a question. Louis stared at him, lifted his head and the pillow threatening to topple off completely.

Harry shook his head. “Nope. I mean, unless you did, um, sorry.” He looked away. Maybe this was a mistake and Louis wasn’t actually attracted to him. He didn’t really know him. What if he had a boyfriend? He didn’t even know for sure if he was gay.

Harry’s face and neck started to heat up. He felt the blankets shift and then a raspy voice in his ear mumbled, “I didn’t mind. I liked it.”

Harry shivered. Louis wasn’t touching him, but he was so close that he could feel his body heat along his back, his breath on his neck. He relaxed into him, hummed a low sound, and Louis placed his hands on Harry’s shoulders and kissed the back of his neck. He pulled him backwards, down onto the mattress until they were lying side by side, facing each other. Louis looked amazing in the morning, it was unfair. His hair was disheveled, his eyes sleepy, but bright, his cheeks were flushed pink under his short beard, even the pillow marks on his face were somehow attractive.

He leaned forward and brushed his lips lightly against Harry’s. They were smooth and soft and Harry worried briefly about his own chapped lips, but then Louis pressed forward and lightly sucked Harry’s bottom lip and all worries were forgotten. Harry trailed a hand along Louis’ side and pulled him closer. Louis fingers danced up the back of Harry’s neck and tangled themselves in his short curls. They kissed hungrily. Harry was still hard from his dream and he wanted friction. He rolled his hips forward and Louis groaned. They pressed their hips together, their dicks grinding against each other through their sweatpants and Harry’s mind flashed back to what he'd seen when he'd first opened the bathroom door the previous night. He needed to see it again now that it was hard.

He dragged his tank top over his head and tossed it away. Then he slid his hand down Louis’ back and tugged at the hem of his t-shirt until Louis helped him pull it off. Trailing his fingers along the waistband of Louis’ pants, he slipped his hand underneath, touching hot, bare skin. Harry wanted more. Louis groaned and started inching Harry's sweats down, soon they'd worked themselves free of their pants. Harry pulled back from devouring Louis’ mouth and looked down.

Harry took in the sight of their chests heaving and their hips lined up; he reached his hand between them and pushed Louis’ shoulder until he rolled onto his back. Harry climbed on top of him and straddled his hips; their pricks were perfectly aligned. Louis’ hands gripped harry’s waist to steady him as Harry ran his hands down Louis’ chest and grazed over his nipples. Louis arched up into his touch, so Harry stroked his nipples again and again until they were stiff and Louis was emitting a low whine. He tipped his body forward, dropped his forearms on either side of Louis’ head and began to work on his neck. Harry loved kissing and sucking on someone’s neck, marking them and making them his. Not that Louis belonged to him, but it felt like it in the moment, especially when he writhed and moaned under him. Louis scratched at Harry’s back and grabbed his ass, pulling him in, closer and closer. Harry kissed behind his ear and down his neck; light kisses followed by rough ones, nipping and sucking his way to Louis’ collarbones, where he bit down hard enough to leave teeth marks. They were both incredibly hard.

Sweat pooled in the dip of Harry’s lower back and the center of Louis’ chest, while they circled their hips together. It wasn’t enough, but Harry didn’t think he’d last long enough to do much else, so he kissed across Louis’ chest and back up the front of his throat until their lips met once again. Harry traced his tongue along Louis’ lips and they immediately opened. Warm and enticing; Harry wanted to taste all of Louis’ mouth, but he didn’t have time. He was so hard and worked up; he needed a release. Sitting back, he reached for Louis’ cock and wrapped his long fingers around the shaft. Harry wanted to ride him, but he knew he’d never make it, at least not this time, and he didn’t have any lube. Louis’ hand was on him and they began to stroke each other. Harry wanked him hard and fast. They moved almost in synch. The tiny apartment was filled with the sounds and smells of sex. He whirled his thumb around the swollen head of Louis’ dick and pressed his thumb into the slit, smearing precome as best as he could. He could feel his balls drawing up. The pit of his belly was tight and hot. He was almost there. Louis was close, too, Harry could tell by his shallow breaths and high pitched whine.

“Come on, come, Louis. Yeah, come for me.” Harry swiped his thumb around the glans of Louis’ prick once more and Louis shot white streaks across his belly. In the midst of his orgasm, he let go of Harry’s cock and Harry took over. He sat up and brought himself off, just the way he liked it, fucking into his fist until, body shaking, he groaned and came hard. His heart pounding, he looked down at the mess of his come mingled with Louis’ and his cock gave a feeble twitch. Holy shit, that was hot. He fell over sideways and lay there next to Louis, both of them sweaty and breathing hard.

After a moment, he rolled onto his side and quietly took in the sight of Louis, eyes closed, small smile on his lips, naked, spent, covered in their drying come. He was amazing. Gorgeous. Beautiful. Stunning. Wow. They were probably going to have an awkward conversation about this very soon, but for now, Harry enjoyed the view.

Louis stretched his legs out, reached his arms above his head and mumbled, “Didn’t you offer me coffee?”

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After double checking the cabinets, it appeared that Niall didn’t have a coffee maker, and Harry wasn’t feeling up to boiling it on the stove only to drink bitter, gritty coffee. The boys took turns showering and, after a peek outside to find that the snow hadn’t stuck, they decided to go out for coffee. It wasn’t a long walk, but they took Louis’ car so they could swing by Harry’s place and pick up his coffee maker. Neither of them could afford coffee shop prices on a daily basis. Harry bounded up the steps to his apartment and unlocked his door to find the plumbers in the kitchen working under his sink. Harry shook hands and introduced himself to the plumbers before grabbing his coffee pot and heading back to the car where Louis was waiting.

Louis had been friendly and good company all morning. There had yet to be an uncomfortable conversation about the morning’s activities. Neither of them had mentioned it and Harry was beginning to wonder if it had actually happened or if he’d imagined the entire thing; then Louis tugged at his scarf and Harry caught a glimpse of the marks he’d left there. It hadn’t been some sort of hallucination then. It just felt weird to have had sex with a virtual stranger and then spend the morning together without talking about it at all. Harry wasn’t the type to ignore things and hope they’d go away and he knew he’d continue to dwell on it. If Louis didn’t mention it, Harry would have to bring it up.

The coffee shop was packed, so they took their drinks to go and walked across the street to check out the Christmas trees. It was cold and it looked like it would snow again, but this time Harry wanted it to stick. He really wanted snow on Christmas.

“These trees aren’t as expensive as I thought they’d be.” Harry ran a finger along the branches of a tall fir tree. He sighed. “This one is beautiful.”

“This one is massive, Harold.” Louis peered around the tree. “Unless you want to sleep with it instead of me.” He walked toward the wreaths and greenery, leaving Harry with his mouth hanging open.

“It’s Harry, not Harold.” That wasn’t what he’d meant to say. “I think a tree, well, um, I think I’d rather sleep with you. Guess I’ll have to let the tree down easy.” He stroked the tree branch pseudo-seductively and winked at Louis. “I’m afraid it’s not going to work out between us, baby, I’ve got a better offer.” Louis cackled and Harry preened; he loved making people laugh. “I do wish I could have a tree. It doesn’t feel like Christmas is a week away without a tree, but I know there’s no room.”

Louis nodded. “Yeah, it doesn’t feel the same. Maybe we can get a pine scented candle. I almost forgot my birthday was coming up.”

“Your birthday is coming up? When?” Harry loved birthdays. He always baked cakes for his friends and family and tended to make a big deal about birthdays in general.

As they walked back to the car, Louis filled him in on his Christmas Eve birthday and how his mom had always made sure that there was a separate celebration and gift for him on his birthday. He told Harry how much he was going to miss spending the weekend with his family and that Niall, and now Harry, were the only people he knew in town. As he talked, Harry realized he knew what he had to do.

“Do you have plans tonight?” Louis carefully backed his car out of the parking spot giving Harry the opportunity to look at him without being caught.

“I literally don't have plans, other than work, until January.” Harry tried not to whine. “My old roommate Liam and his fiance Anton might be throwing a New Year's party, but I’m not sure. Anton’s family is in town staying with them now.”

“Yeah, I don’t, well, since I don’t know anyone here, I’d just planned on nights in with my laptop. I thought I’d spend the days getting to know the area a bit. You know, after I find a place to live.” Louis kept his eyes focused on the road, “Do you want to hang out tonight?”

“Well, Louis, um, since neither of us have much money or anywhere to go, I thought it was a given that we’d be hanging out tonight.” Harry looked out the passenger window at the passing cars and continued, “A lot of nights, actually.”

“That’s not what I meant, smartass.” Louis glanced at him and stuck his tongue out before turning his eyes back to the road. He seemed disappointed. “Nah, I thought maybe we could go to a club or something, but you’re right. I’m strapped for cash and drinks are always so expensive. With cab fare and all, well, never mind.”

“Sorry, yeah, I can’t swing the money to go out,” Harry had an idea that might get them talking about that morning, “But, uh, well, there’s a bottle of vodka in Niall’s freezer. We could get some beer and a frozen pizza at the store, maybe.”

“Yeah, okay, sounds good.” Louis sounded relieved. “It’s getting colder. Supposed to snow again, right?”

Harry grinned. He couldn’t keep the excitement out of his voice,“Yep. Hope it sticks this time. I love snow and I don’t get to see it that often. Fingers crossed for snow on Christmas.”

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They made it back to the apartment around lunch time. Harry made sandwiches again while Louis changed into what he called his lazy clothes—worn out sweatpants that were a bit big and rode low on his hips and a loose tank top. They sat shoulder to shoulder and watched Bob’s Burgers on Louis’ laptop while they ate. Louis nodded off a little after three o’clock, so Harry quietly closed the laptop and opened a book. The longer they went without talking about their shared orgasms, Harry felt, the harder it would be to finally bring it up. Maybe a little liquid courage would be the catalyst they needed.

Stuck in a tiny apartment with nothing much to do with a man who Harry found practically irresistible was causing him some serious stress. By five o’clock he was chewing his nails. Louis had only woken up a short while before and Harry found that he couldn’t stop looking at him. He reached into the fridge to get a beer and Harry’s eyes were glued to his ass. It was bitable. Round and firm. Harry wanted to smack it to see how much it would bounce and jiggle. He wondered if Louis would like that. Louis bent over to put the pizza in the tiny oven and his tank top hung loose exposing the side of his chest and his nipples. Nipples that had Harry’s come on them that very morning. Harry wiped the corner of his mouth to be sure he wasn’t drooling, then hopped up and opened the freezer.

Vodka was exactly what they needed. Niall didn’t have any shot glasses, so they took turns drinking from the bottle. The pizza took longer than it was supposed to; Niall’s tiny oven probably wasn’t accustomed to being used. Once it was finished, they wolfed it down in minutes. By eight o’clock, Harry was just drunk enough. They’d found a pack of playing cards in the lone kitchen drawer while they were searching for something to cut the pizza and were attempting to play Speed, but neither had the coordination, and Matilda kept wandering across the stacks of cards. Instead, they sat on the bed facing each other with a mess of cards and a kitten between them.

“Louis. Louiiiiiiiis.” Harry liked saying his name, “Do you remember?”

Louis scoffed, “Of course, I remember,” but then he leaned close and whispered, “Remember what, Harry?” Maybe Louis was drunk too.

“Today. This morning,” Harry barrelled on. “I came on your belly. On your nipples. Remember?”

Louis shook his head, “No, Harold, I’m afraid I have no idea what you’re referring to.”

“Really?” Harry squeaked, “You don’t—”

Louis laughed and shoved Harry’s chest with both hands; he laughed harder when Harry toppled over onto his back.

“Harry!” Louis poked him with his toes. “Yes, I remember. Why?”

Harry caught hold of Louis’ ankles and held them against his chest. “Well, I thought, um, that we should probably talk about it.” He rubbed his thumb over the tiny triangle tattoo that he hadn’t noticed earlier.

Louis stilled and said, “Ok, so talk. For the record, it was hot and I’d like to do it again.”

“Oh, okay, um, yeah, I thought it was hot too. You know, for the record.” Harry tried to sound official but ruined his attempt by babbling, “It was, really, it was so hot and you are so fucking gorgeous and I really want to blow you.” His eyes went wide, then he squeezed them shut.

Louis snorted, “Well, I’m not going to say no to that.” He tried to poke Harry with his toes again, but Harry firmly held his ankles.

“No tickling.” Harry commanded and relaxed his grip. “Wait, but, um, I have to talk first. Yep. Okay. Niall.”

“Niall?” Louis raised an eyebrow.

“Niall.” Harry continued his light massage of Louis’ ankles. “We’re both friends with Niall and we’re probably going to see a lot of each other, you know, um, socially. And I really don’t want things to be awkward between us. I want us to be friends. I think you’re fun and funny and I wouldn’t want to mess that up.”

“Yeah. That makes sense.” Louis agreed, “I like you, Harry. I know we’ve only known each other for like a day? But I do. Want to be friends, too, I mean.” He paused, took a breath and offered, “So, maybe we could be friends with, uh, benefits?”

“Um, I don’t know, I don’t think so,” Harry tried not to sound disappointed, “I used to have a friend like that and, well, we’re not friends anymore, so…”

Louis didn’t seem ready to give up, “Alright, well, what about this? Let’s see how the next few weeks go, yeah? We’re stuck in this tiny apartment and we’re going to be spending most of our time together, so why don’t we just see what happens?”

“Louis.”

“Yes?”

“I don’t know what any of that means.” He let go of Louis’ feet and pushed himself up onto his elbows so he could make eye contact, “I’m tired and I’ve had enough vodka that I’m just going to ask.” Louis chuckled and smiled encouragingly, so Harry continued, “So does that mean we wank each other off? Blow jobs? Are we kissing? When are we kissing? Just during sex or like… what if you want to kiss me at two o’clock in the afternoon for no reason? What if I’m cold and want a cuddle? What are the limits? I don’t know how I feel about like, penetration, god that sounds ridiculous, but um, I think for me that’s a line I don’t want to cross for now. What do you think?” Louis grin widened a little more with each question.

“Let’s see if I can answer all of your questions, shall we? Well, we can wank each other, done that already. I’m all for blow jobs—giving and receiving, I like kissing whenever and wherever, I am an expert cuddler, and I think you’re right that full on sex might be going too far for,” he gestured between them, “whatever this is. At least, for now.”

Harry nodded and couldn’t help the grin that overtook his face, “Okay, Louis, sounds good.”

“Hey, now, look at that.” He reached over and poked a finger in Harry’s left cheek. “Dimples. I love it.”

For all the talking they did, they didn’t do much else that night. They continued drinking and attempting to play cards, they trailed a piece of string for Matilda, they watched cat videos on YouTube. By ten o’clock, they were both too drunk to do much but sleep, so they stripped to their underwear and cuddled up in Niall’s little bed.

“Harry, hey,” Louis whispered as he nudged their noses together. “You awake?”

Harry’s eyelashes fluttered. “Maybe.”

Louis giggled, “Well, if you _are_ awake, I’d like to kiss you, but if you’re asleep, I guess I won’t.”

Harry’s eyes opened and he could barely focus. They were already so close; Louis’ arm was wrapped around Harry’s shoulder, while Harry’s arm rested on Louis’ waist, their hips were inches apart, and the tips of their noses were touching. “Hi.” He closed the gap between them, his eyes closed once again, and he caught Louis’ “Hi” in response with his lips.

Louis lips were warm and soft and Harry wanted to kiss them all night. He tightened his hand on Louis’ waist and pulled him closer. Louis’ fingers scratched at the back of his curls and Harry sighed into his mouth. He pressed kisses onto his lips over and over and then along the scruff on his cheeks and his jaw, and to the soft skin of his neck. Louis hummed and tilted his head to give him room, but Harry kissed his way back up until they were eye to eye again, then he placed one last kiss on his nose. “Matilda’s asleep on the pillow, right behind your head; don’t roll over.”

Louis rubbed their noses together. “Good night, Harry.” He kissed his forehead and they cuddled closer. Even with their body heat, it was chilly in the apartment. They slept with their bodies pressed chest to chest and their legs tangled together.

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There was a warm pressure on Harry’s chest. Warm and soft. Oh. There was a warm, soft, wet pressure around his cock. Harry cracked open his eyes to see Matilda curled up on the top of his sternum. Her fluffy body moved up and down with his bare chest as he breathed in and out. He didn’t want to move her, she looked so peaceful, but he felt it was inappropriate to have a kitten sleeping on him while Louis was sucking his cock. He gently lifted her with one of his large hands and placed her as far away as his long arm could reach. She curled up on Louis’ pillow and went back to sleep.

Harry’s head fell back into his pillow. He closed his eyes. “Louis, what are you do—” but his voice trailed off into a groan when Louis sucked hard on the head before popping off.

“Harold. Really. I didn’t realize you’d never had a blow job before. Let me walk you through it. This,” Louis wrapped his hand around the base and wiggled it back and forth, “is your penis. This,” he squeezed and pumped it a few times, “is my hand on your penis.” He let go and pushed himself up to all fours, extended his tongue and licked slowly from the root nestled in a curly, dark, thatch of hair, to the top where he expertly flicked the tip of his tongue under the head, then swirled it around and around before dipping it into the slit. Harry grunted as Louis continued, “That was my tongue on your penis. This is my mouth sucking you,” He dipped down and caught the head between his lips and slid his hot mouth up and down the shaft, sucking harder at the tip. Harry’s hips stuttered upwards, chasing the warmth of Louis’ mouth, but he popped off again. “That was you trying to fuck my mouth.” He tsked. “Not today.” He scooted back down the bed, settled himself between Harry’s legs and nuzzled his balls, exhaling a hot breath, inhaling deeply, then exhaling over them, causing goosebumps to appear all over Harry’s body. “These are your balls, Harry. Would you like me to play with them?”

Harry hissed out a yes, then sucked in a breath through his teeth.

Louis lapped at his balls. Then, sucked them into his mouth one at a time. He reached up and rolled them in his hand while he continued to lick and suck at every part of Harry he could reach. He spent a long time in the creases of Harry’s thighs, then kissed his way down the milky skin, only to bite his way back up. “These are your thighs, Harry, they’re lovely.” Harry shuddered and gasped with each bite. His cock was rock hard and leaking. Louis wrapped his fingers around it and moved it aside to lick the precome off of Harry’s belly. He sat back and watched Harry for a few seconds. “Do you understand what a blow job is now, Harold?”

Harry nodded so fast that the bed shook. “Please. Please, Louis. More.”

Louis flicked his tongue at the leaking tip once more, “I want you to try to be still for me, Harry.” And he sank down, enveloping half of Harry’s length immediately. Louis sucked cock like it was his life's one, true dream. As if his mouth had been formed by some cock-sucking god in Asgard specifically for the purpose of making Harry come. Like he was a professional-grade cocksucker only maintaining his amateur status while honing his skills for the cocksucking Olympics. Or the world’s leading expert and anyone else who’d ever given Harry a blow job was failing Introduction to Cock Sucking 101.

Harry tried to be still. He wanted to be good for Louis, but Louis was taking him deeper and deeper and Harry wanted to cry, it was so good. He was close. His balls were tight and his belly was hot and he knew he wouldn’t last much longer. His hands had been clenched in the sheets for the duration of the blow job so far, but he forced them to relax and sought out Louis’ soft hair. He combed his fingers through it and Louis moaned around his cock. His hips bucked up, completely out of his control, and he tried to apologize, but Louis hummed and took him deeper. Harry was losing it. He twisted his fingers in Louis hair and tugged lightly, trying to let him know that he was about to come.

“I’m gonna…Oh!” Louis dragged a single, dry finger along Harry’s crack and began teasing his hole. He circled around, pressed the tip of his finger inside, while pushing himself down on and swallowing around the head of Harry’s cock, and that was it. Harry grunted and shot his load into Louis’ throat and he swallowed it down. He pulled back and licked and sucked the remains of Harry’s come off of his dick and suckled at the head until Harry whined and tugged on his hair. He crawled up Harry’s body until their tongues met in a messy kiss, teeth clicking and chins bumping. Harry could taste himself in Louis’ mouth and it made him want to taste Louis. Harry’s took handfuls of Louis’ ass and squeezed before pulling him further up. “Come on me. Come on my face. Yeah?”

“Shit. Really?” Louis began to crawl forward, his knees on either side of Harry’s chest, Harry’s hands still gripping his ass.

Harry nodded, “Please, I was still. I was good. Please.”

Harry trailed his fingers up and down Louis’ ass, then squeezed hard. Louis fucked into his own fist, harder and faster, he reached forward with his other hand to steady himself on the wall behind Harry’s head.

Harry closed his eyes, opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue, waiting impatiently for his reward. Throwing his head back, Louis let out a snarl as he came, hitting Harry’s mouth with the first shot, then painting his face in white stripes. Harry swallowed what he’d caught, then moaned and licked his lips. Louis fell sideways onto the bed, his chest heaved as he struggled to bring his breath back to normal.

“That was fucking hot. Jesus.” Louis crawled off the bed and reached into the bathroom for something to clean up the mess on Harry’s face. He sat back down next to him and gently wiped the come from his eyelashes and cheeks. “Good morning.”

Harry giggled, then Louis joined in and their giggles turned into full on laughter with squinty eyes and stomach cramps. When their laughter died down, Harry opened his eyes to find the most beautiful smile aimed at him. “Good morning, Louis.”

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Harry made a pot of coffee, fed Matilda, and cooked eggs on toast for their breakfast while Louis cleaned up the mess that Matilda and the two of them had made over the past day and a half. They sat on the bed by the window finishing their coffee and watched the rain fall.

Harry heaved a sigh. “I can't believe it's raining. It was supposed to snow.”

Louis thumbed at Harry's lower lip, “Your pout is adorable, but I don't think it has the power to change the weather. Besides it's another week to Christmas. You could still get your snow.”

Harry sucked his bottom lip back in. “You’re right, I suppose. No reason to pout. What do you want to do?”

They spent the day cuddled up under the blankets, watched a few shows on Louis’ laptop, and read quietly, but mostly they talked.

Harry told Louis about his family and how disappointed he’d been when he’d realized that he couldn’t go skiing with them. He told him what his holidays were usually like: the food, the lights, the tree, the decorations; about riding around in the back of his stepdad’s car when he was a kid, drinking hot chocolate, and looking for the best decorated house; how he and his sister would argue every year about which was better—white lights or colorful ones.

Harry told him about the year he and his sister had decided to go Christmas caroling, just the two of them, even though it wasn’t something that people normally did in their hometown, and that they decided the best way to do it was to drink a good amount of eggnog, spiked with plenty of brandy, before starting, and take a flask of straight brandy along on their adventure. They’d sung loudly, off-key, and had forgotten the lyrics to their favorite songs. That Christmas Eve had ended with Harry being sick in the bushes outside one of their neighbor’s houses, and the following Christmas morning was the only one Harry had spent hiding in bed instead of getting up at the crack of dawn to open presents.

Louis laughed in all the right places and Harry found himself wanting to tell him everything. He talked about how much he missed his friend and old roommate Liam now that he was living with his fiancé Anton, and how difficult it was living alone after having a roommate for so many years. “Plus, I’m not sure I can really afford it. I got a raise this summer, and I budgeted everything, and I’m fine with bills and stuff, but I have no extra money for fun stuff. I told Li to go ahead and move out. Now, I think I’m going to have to look for a smaller place or find another roommate.”

Louis fiddled with his hair. It was just one thing of many that Harry found attractive about Louis. He seemed nervous, but then he giggled and joked, “Maybe I don’t need to find a place. We could be roommates.”

Harry barked a laugh. “I don’t think that would work, what with the sex and all.”

A look of disappointment passed over Louis’ face, he cleared his throat and looked down at Matilda sitting in his lap. “Yeah. Yeah, that would be weird.” He handed Harry the kitten and climbed off the bed. “I’m gonna hop in the shower.” And he disappeared behind the bathroom door.

While Louis was in the shower, Harry made a quick list in his phone about what he wanted to do for Louis’ birthday. He’d make his go-to chocolate cake recipe, but he also wanted to give him a small gift. He had all week to think it over and decide what to get him. Louis had seemed bothered when Harry had laughed off the idea of being roommates, but it would probably be hard enough to go from this… thing that they were doing, to being just friends once January came along and they weren’t confined to Niall’s apartment. It would be impossible to be roommates.

Louis stepped out of the bathroom completely naked and surrounded by a cloud of steam. Harry couldn’t peel his eyes away from him as he crossed the room. Is elegant a word to describe a cock? Harry had never heard anything like that, but it seemed that was precisely the right word for Louis’ because it was exactly that. Long, thick, and smooth. Symmetrical, even. It hung heavy between his legs and Harry knew he was staring, but he couldn’t stop. He watched as Louis bent down to rustle through his bag, his ass completely on display. Harry’s heart was hammering in his chest. He could feel the blood rushing to his dick. No, there was no way he could ever be roommates with Louis and make it out alive. He stood up again with a clean pair of briefs in his hand. His backside was still facing Harry as he pulled on his underwear. Harry was sad to see his ass disappear beneath the tight black fabric, but the tight black fabric was a treat on its own. His ass looked phenomenal in them. Louis turned around and the marks Harry had left on his neck stood out on his bare skin.

He stepped into the kitchen where Harry was standing, probably drooling. Rather than hiding anything, his briefs clung to him in all the right places. He could see the outline of his soft cock and his balls. A bead of water dripped down his neck, over the marks Harry had left there, his stomach was still slightly damp from the shower and there was a little pool of water in his belly button that Harry wanted to suck out. Harry realized that he had been silently staring the entire time just as Louis opened his mouth to suggest pasta for dinner.

“I saw there were some noodles and a couple of jars of sauce. Do you want me to boil the water?” Louis peered at him through the wet hair that was hanging in his face.

Harry squeaked, “No,” and then cleared his throat. “No, um, I have the stuff for meatballs, so I can make them. Won’t take long. Then we can eat it for dinner for a few days, if that’s alright.”

“Yeah, sounds good. You alright? I didn’t weird you out talking about being roommates, did I?” Louis sounded concerned and Harry realized that he was quickly losing his shit with this whole situation.

Oh, god. I like him. I have a big, fat crush on him. Look at my marks on his neck. I want to date him. I want to have babies with him. What is wrong with me? I hardly know him. Can he tell? Is that why he sounds concerned? Oh, god.

“No, no” he rushed out. “Not weirded out. Just thinking about dinner. I kind of planned on eating nothing but pasta all week because it’s easy and Niall’s kitchen is so awful, but I just realized that, um, you might not want that.”

Louis laughed. “Are you kidding? I love pasta. No, that’s fine. I feel bad that you’re doing all the cooking and that you bought all the groceries. In fact, um, let me give you some money for—”

“Nope. Don’t worry about it. If we run out of food mid-week, it’s on you to buy more, okay?” Harry smiled big enough to show his dimple. “But I don’t mind cooking. I’m used to it.” Harry continued to grin like a loon while his mind took a trip into a fantasy future where he cooked dinner for Louis every night and knew all of his favorite meals by heart. When he realized he was still smiling and staring, he spun around to pull the meat out of the refrigerator, hoping that Louis couldn’t read the feelings that were written all over his face.

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The rest of the week passed by relatively easily. Harry went to work in the mornings and wouldn’t arrive back at Niall’s place until dinner time. He’d walk in the door to find Louis heating up leftovers in the ancient microwave and they’d stand in the kitchen together to talk about the day. Louis spent his days exploring the town and hunting for an apartment. He found one that was coming available in mid-January and he’d given them his name and information. He played with Matilda a good bit of the time. He’d found a flashlight in his car and had taken to turning off all the lights in the apartment and letting her chase the flashlight beam until she was exhausted. Most nights, they’d trade blow jobs or hand jobs and kiss until they fell asleep. Each time was amazing and Harry was worried he was getting used to the sex, sleeping curled up with him, Louis’ body, the touches, the kisses—but also to Louis’ presence and his kindness. He worried that he’d get his heart broken come January.

When Harry got in after work on Friday, he found Louis unloading groceries in the kitchen. He’d seen Harry’s Christmas dinner list and texted him that he had decided to buy everything they needed; he also picked up a few bottles of wine. Harry almost cried when he realized he didn’t have to fight the crowds at the store. He’d had a rough day and it had been raining on and off all week. Not a single flake of snow and now the weatherman was saying that there was almost no chance of snow for Christmas. He sat down in the wingback chair to take off his boots, rested his head on the back of the chair and closed his eyes. He was tired and he had big plans that night.

Louis stood in front of him and nudged his knee. “Hey. You hungry?”

Harry gave him a grateful smile when he saw Louis smiling down at him, holding out a paper plate with a big sandwich and chips. “Yes, please.” He sat forward and accepted the plate from Louis’ outstretched hand. “Can’t believe Niall doesn’t have plates.”

Louis sat on the edge of the bed and watched Harry eat for a minute. “Feel better?”

“Yeah, yeah, I do. Didn’t have the best day, but it’s better now. How about you?” Harry didn’t want to talk about his day anymore. He had to get Louis to bed early if he was going to be able to follow his plan.

Louis took their plates to the kitchen, then sprawled out on his belly on the bed. “It was good. I’m tired actually. The rain let up and I went for a walk, then did the shopping, and did a load of laundry in the basement. I didn’t do a whole lot, so I don’t know why I’m so…” He yawned loudly, “tired.”

Harry moved to the bed, lined his body up next to him, and kissed him softly, their lips brushed lightly together before Harry asked, “What else did you do today?”

Louis kissed him back, pressing their lips firmly together, mumbling against his mouth. “Nothing, I swear. Only other thing I did was play with Matilda. Oh and I showered. Don’t know why I’m tired.” He paused to yawn again. “Maybe because I’m going to be old tomorrow; my body is rebelling.”

Harry giggled, then nipped at Louis’ top lip. “Twenty-five is not old. You’re ridiculous.” He sat up and climbed on top of Louis to straddle his bum, then started pushing at his shirt. “Take this off.”

“Um, yessir.” Louis pulled at the back of his shirt and Harry helped him slip it over his head.

Slowly, Harry began massaging Louis’ back. “Maybe you just need to relax and get a good night's sleep.” There weren’t a lot of knots in his muscles, so he used fairly gently pressure. He worked his way from his neck and shoulders, down his back until he reached Louis’ pants. He stood up and worked them down over his ass, then pulled them completely off. He climbed back on the bed between Louis’ legs and pushed them further apart. He took a second just to look, then went back to his massage. He rubbed and squeezed and massaged his ass and thighs until Louis had been riding the mattress for a good five minutes. This was exactly what he wanted and it was working out well so far. He leaned forward with his hands on the mattress on either side of Louis’ back and gently kissed along his shoulders. He moved slowly from side to side, kissing and nuzzling his back, then he started to move down. He followed his spine and left kisses on every bump until he reached his tail bone. Then, he took a few seconds to prepare himself. He had to stay focused and make this good for Louis.

Harry placed a long, wet kiss at the base of Louis spine, then he grasped Louis ass with both hands and gently pulled his cheeks apart, revealing his puckered hole. He loved this part. He watched Louis’ back moving with his breath, then leaned forward and licked him from his balls to the top of his crack. Louis moaned and shivered, so Harry did it again, and was rewarded with another moan. He kissed and licked all around his hole, then spent time kissing and sucking along all of the smooth skin of his ass. He nipped along the crease underneath his ass where it met his leg, ran his tongue along that line, then sucked a mark. Louis grunted and groaned, so Harry did the same thing to the other side. Once he was sufficiently bruised, he began to lick and suck and kiss in earnest. He circled the rim with the tip of his tongue and pushed inside. Louis groaned and tried to push back against Harry’s tongue and down into the mattress at the same time. Harry wiggled his tongue further inside and Louis shouted something into the pillow, so he backed up a little and started licking slowly moving down towards his balls again. He needed to make Louis come, but he knew he was tired, so Harry sat back and gave Louis’ ass a quick smack. It _did_ bounce and jiggle, just like Harry thought. Louis whimpered and raised up off the bed as if he were trying to chase Harry’s hand. Hmm. He _did_ like it. “Roll over, Lou.”

Louis flipped over onto his back with Harry’s help and settled down with a pillow under his hips. Harry laid back down between his legs and went back to it. He dove right back in; he held him open while he tongued at his hole and kissed around the rim. What he wouldn’t give for some lube, but that would have to wait. Louis was close, just from Harry eating his ass. Harry reached down and palmed himself to relieve some of the pressure. Damn. He was really hard from this and he hadn't planned to get off tonight. He gave Louis a long, wet lick, then commanded, “Wank yourself.”

Louis’ dick was flushed and so very hard and leaking. He wrapped his hand around the base and squeezed. Then, he started moving his fist. Harry went back to licking him out, but tried to keep an eye on Louis at the same time. He felt Louis’ balls draw up, licked them as they did, then went straight back to his hole, prodding and pushing his tongue inside again. He pushed Louis’ thighs further back, spreading him wider. He could hear Louis’ unsteady breathing, mixed with moans and whimpers of pleasure. He felt him come before he saw it, the ring of muscle clenched down while Harry’s tongue was inside him and Harry couldn’t help but groan. He continued licking him slowly and softly as Louis rode out his orgasm. Once he was spent, Harry sat up, yanked his pants down and with a few strokes of his hand, had come all over Louis’ balls and ass. He watched as his come ran down over his spit slick hole, and thought it was possibly the hottest thing he’d ever seen. He stood up, reached into the bathroom and grabbed the hand towel that was hanging just inside the door. He gently cleaned Louis up, helped him into the bed properly, tucked him in and cuddled him to sleep. It was nine o’clock. Plenty of time for Harry to execute his plan.

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Harry hurried to bundle himself up to run down to his car and retrieve his things. He’d run by his apartment on his lunch break to pick up his heavy blanket and some necessities for baking Louis’ cake. He climbed the stairs with his arms loaded down and quietly let himself back into the apartment.

Louis was still asleep in the same position, except Matilda had curled up to sleep next to his head. The apartment was dark other than the small light above the stove, but that would have to be enough. Harry didn’t want to take the chance that Louis would wake up. He tossed his blanket onto the chair and put his bags on the kitchen floor. He preheated the oven and carefully mixed the ingredients for the cake. He’d made this cake a million times; it was always a success. Once he poured the batter into the pan and placed it in the oven, he started on the ganache. He stirred the simmered cream, chocolate and butter until it was shiny and smooth. All he had left to do was cool and decorate the cake after it finished baking. Harry decided to go ahead and shower while the oven did its job. He wasn’t sure if he’d have time in the morning, plus he’d managed to get cake batter in his hair.

It was during his shower that things went to shit. As he was rinsing the final suds from his body, he heard the alarm go off. He quickly dried off and exited the bathroom to find the apartment full of smoke. Louis was standing naked in the kitchen, clutching Matilda in one hand and opening the oven door with the other.

“Open the window, Harry!” He shouted over the sound of the smoke alarm.

Harry rushed to do as he said. He threw open the window, and started fanning the smoke outside with his towel. The smoke dissipated within a few minutes; it wasn’t nearly as bad as it had seemed when he’d first walked out of the bathroom. Once the smoke cleared and they’d managed to shut off the alarm, Harry lowered himself down onto the edge of the bed, dropped his head into his hands and tried not to cry.

Louis sat down next to him, both of them naked and cold, and put his arm around Harry’s shoulders. “Trying to kill me in my sleep, huh? Tired of sharing this bed with me, so first you tried to murder me with your fabulous tongue, and when that didn’t work, you went for death by burning a cake.”

Harry snorted. “No.” Then he sighed. “I wanted you to have a good birthday. I had a plan.”

Louis hummed and nodded. “I think I’ll probably have an alright birthday without the cake.” He bumped their shoulders together. “What’s in the pot on the stove?”

Harry jumped up and ran to the stove, sure that he'd managed to ruin that too, not that it mattered. “It’s chocolate ganache. It was supposed to be the frosting for this.” He poked at the burnt lump of cake. Niall’s oven had turned on him. He’d never forgive it.

“What’s that, like, liquid chocolate?” Louis perked up. He made his way over to inspect the ganache. “So, the cake is ruined and all we have is this?” He dipped his finger in and slowly brought it to his mouth. He kept his eyes on Harry’s as he licked the chocolate until his finger was clean.

Harry swallowed and nodded. He couldn’t force his mouth to make words.

Louis dipped back into the ganache and brought his finger up to Harry’s lips. Harry opened his mouth and took Louis’ finger inside, rolled his tongue around and sucked.

“Will this stuff still be good tomorrow?” Louis slowly pulled his finger from between Harry’s lips and Harry watched it go.

Harry nodded again. “Um, we, uh, we have to put it in the fridge and, um, reheat it.” He was still staring at Louis’ finger as he popped it back into his own mouth. He shook himself, then carefully placed the pot of chocolate into the fridge.

“Bed now? Chocolate later?” He climbed over to the window and closed it. It was really cold in the apartment now and they were both still naked. “Oh, I brought my heavy blanket.” He turned to the chair to find Matilda had burrowed herself into the folds of the comforter, so he carefully extracted her and passed her to Louis while he spread the blanket on the bed. They climbed under the covers and Harry turned onto his side, facing away from Louis and Matilda.

He was still so embarrassed. He’d ruined the cake and almost caught Niall’s apartment on fire. He shivered. Then he felt Louis’ arm drape over his belly and a little ball of fur dropped out of his hand and pressed her cold nose to his skin, Louis’ hand flattened to Harry’s chest and pulled him closer until they were pressed together, chest to back. Matilda waited until they were still to snuggle up to Harry’s armpit and go to sleep. Suddenly he wasn’t so cold.

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The boys woke up slightly sweaty. With the window closed, the two blankets were more than enough to trap their body heat and keep them warm. Louis’ chest was damp where it was plastered to Harry’s back, so he pulled back allowing some cool air in between them, then kissed Harry’s shoulder. “Good morning, sunshine.”

Harry’s voice was rough with sleep, “Happy birthday, Louis. I’m sorry I burned your cake.”

Louis kissed his shoulder again, then the back of his neck. He combed his fingers through the short curls at the back of Harry’s head. “I don’t need cake.” He pressed his nose into Harry’s scalp and inhaled. “The sun’s out. Want to go outside today?”

The boys spent the day driving to different parts of town, parking, and walking around. Harry showed Louis his favorite second-hand store, where to buy actual vinyl records, and the bank where he worked, which turned out to be relatively close to the building where Louis found an apartment . Harry pointed out the corner pharmacy and asked Louis to wait outside while he ran in for a minute. When he came back out, he was holding a tiny gift bag and handed it over with a laugh. “Happy birthday!”

Louis opened the bag to find a small bottle of lube. He blushed and put it back in the bag. “You planning on using this, then?”

Harry grinned and said, “Maybe. Just thought we might need it. That okay?”

Louis nodded. They continued down the sidewalk with Harry pointing out the Christmas decorations as they walked.

A lot of the shops were closed because it was Christmas Eve, but they still had fun walking around, enjoying the good weather. They stopped at a little bistro for lunch. The place was one of Harry’s favorites; they served sandwiches and small plates, but their main business was a bakery. The server brought out a slice of cake with a candle in it when she overheard Harry apologizing yet again for burning Louis’ birthday cake. It was quite a lovely day.

The more time Harry spent with Louis, the more he liked him. They got along so well, and were so compatible, that Harry’s heart hurt every time he thought about the approach of the new year, letting all of this go, and falling into a regular friendship with him. He was going to miss… this. Whatever it was. It felt a lot like, well, he didn’t want to think it. He’d only known Louis for a week.

On the way back to Niall’s apartment, they stopped at a park so Harry could show Louis the wishing fountain. Night was falling and the light was beautiful, it filtered through the trees as the sun sunk behind them. The boys sat on a bench in front of the fountain, clutching pennies in their gloved hands.

“For as long as I can remember, every time I’ve ever made a wish, I’ve wished for the same thing.” Harry confided as he opened his fist and looked down at his penny.

Louis bumped their shoulders together. “Huh, me too. Every single time. I used to make my sisters wish for the same thing. I thought if there were five of us wishing at the same time, it would, I don’t know, be a stronger wish or something. Thought I could force it. Silly really, but I still wish for it.”

Harry turned to him and asked, “What do you wish for?”

“Can’t tell ya, Harry,” Louis winked at him, “it won’t come true.”

Harry rolled his eyes, “Well, it hasn’t come true in twenty-five years, so maybe it’s time for a new wish.” He pinched his penny between two fingers and held it up, “C’mon, I’ll tell you mine if you’ll tell me yours.”

“Uh, yeah, okay. Same time?” Louis tapped his penny against Harry’s.

“I mean, we can try. Count of three.” Harry held up three fingers, “Ready?”

They counted together, “One, two, three.”

Harry blurted out, “A million dollars and a pony.”

Just as Louis said, “I always wished for a unicorn.”

“Yours is better.” Harry chuckled and flipped his penny in his hand. “A unicorn is such a cool thing to wish for.”

Louis shook his head, “Nah, I like yours. More realistic. At least ponies and money exist. More chance of your wish coming true that way.”

Harry shrugged, “Yeah.” He booped Louis’ nose with his index finger. “But I like the idea of wishing something into existence.”

“Well, now we have to wish for something new.” Louis hummed, closed his eyes, then tossed the penny into the sparkling water. “What’s yours going to be, Harry?” He slid his arm around Harry’s waist and tugged him closer. “Wishing for a white Christmas?”

“Can’t tell you or it won’t come true.” Harry leaned into Louis’ embrace, squeezed the penny and thought about his wish. He wanted to wish that this thing with Louis would work itself out, that whatever happened after they were no longer crammed together in Niall’s tiny apartment wouldn’t be awkward or uncomfortable, that they’d end up good friends, that he would get over his crush easily, that he wouldn’t get his heart broken. He turned his head to find Louis watching him expectantly. He smiled, closed his eyes and wished, harder than he’d ever wished before, that Louis would be his, truly his, forever; then he flipped the penny into the fountain.

Just as the penny sunk beneath the water, the park lit up around them and took Harry's breath away. He wanted it to be a sign, but he knew that all of the Christmas lights were on a timer set to turn on at sunset. Still, it was beautiful. The lights twinkled in the trees and reflected in the water of the fountain.

Harry leaned over and placed a kiss on Louis’ cheek, “Happy birthday, Louis.”

The boys sat watching the lights and the fountain until the cold started to seep into their bones, then they stood up and began to wind their way back up the path they’d come down. Their shoulders bumped together and the backs of their gloves brushed against each other. Louis grasped Harry’s wrist, then slotted their fingers together. The twinkling lights surrounded them as they made their way back to the car in silence.

They drove home and held hands across the center console; Harry watched the lights pass by the window and tried not to want more. Before long, they were climbing the stairs to the tiny apartment.

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“Ok, Harold, you have to hold still or this is going to get everywhere.” Louis pressed a hand to the middle of Harry’s chest.

“It’s going to get everywhere anyway. That’s why we put towels all over the place. I don’t know why we’re doing it this way. It’s _your_ birthday.” Harry wiggled some more.

“Be still. I want to do it. This is my birthday present to myself, okay?” Louis tapped his fingers on Harry’s sternum. “Do you want me to do this? If you don’t like it…”

“No, no. I do want it.” Harry reassured him. “Just do it.”

“I’m not Michael Jordan and this is no Nike commercial.” Louis scoffed. “Just do it. Is it 1995?”

“Oh my god, shut up. Fine.” He turned on the sweet voice that usually got him anything he wanted from most people. “Louis, will you please put the chocolate ganache on my nipples and eat it off?”

“Well, I mean, yeah, if you’re going to be so polite about it, then, yeah.” He dipped the spoon into the pot and carefully drizzled it onto Harry’s chest, pooling it on each of his four nipples. “Are these two as sensitive?” He asked as painted the two smaller nipples with chocolate.

Harry sucked air in through his teeth.

“Is it alright? Too hot?”

“No, yeah, I mean, they aren’t are sensitive as the others. It’s hot, warm, it feels good though. I can’t believe you’re putting ganache on my—”

“Shut up, Harry, or you can lick it off yourself.” He set the spoon back in the pot and dipped his finger in, smeared it across Harry’s lower lip, then positioned himself on all fours, caging Harry in. He leaned down, lightly touching their foreheads together, and whispered, “You’re so lovely. I'm having the best birthday.” Then he kissed him, sucking at the chocolate on Harry’s bottom lip until it was gone, sliding their lips together, licking at the seam of Harry’s lips and diving in for more as soon as Harry let him. His tongue slipped inside and traced along the inside of Harry’s mouth. Harry tried to give as good as he got, but his mind was all over the place. He needed to let go and just enjoy this.

Harry pulled his head back into the pillow and mumbled into Louis’ mouth, “Um, the chocolate will harden if you don’t…”

Louis scoffed, placed one more hot kiss on Harry’s open mouth and slowly, teasingly, made his way down. He left open mouthed kisses along his neck to his collarbones, where he nipped and sucked. “Gonna mark you up like you’ve been doing me.” He worked on both sides before moving down Harry’s chest to the little puddles of chocolate. His tongue peeked out and flicked at the chocolate on Harry’s right nipple once, twice, “This is good shit, Harry, think I might eat the whole pot.”

Harry groaned, “Thank you, Lou, it’s my grandma’s recipe, now will you please just get on with--”

Louis flattened his tongue and licked over one of Harry’s chocolate covered nipples. He whirled his tongue around, lapping at the ganache until it was gone, then he focused on the nipple. The little bud was hard and tight and when Louis caught it in his teeth, Harry cried out his name. He sucked and licked and bit until he worried that Harry’s incoherent babbling would scare the neighbors. He left a few soft, soothing kisses over the reddened skin and Harry shivered as Louis moved down to lick the chocolate off his extra nipples. No one had ever paid attention to them like this before; he wasn’t used to them receiving any attention at all. It was almost too much. Harry writhed and groaned as Louis crawled back up to focus on the left side.

When Louis licked the last of the chocolate from his nipples, Harry was a blubbering mess.

By the time Louis finished licking the drizzled ganache off of Harry’s cock, his brain had completely left the building.

He put every ounce of effort into not thrashing around and knocking Louis off of him. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t come yet; the pleasure was so intense, he thought he could die from it. Louis had two fingers in his ass and was relentlessly massaging Harry’s prostate, while sucking hard on the head of his cock, and alternating between pinching each of his nipples in turn and wanking what cock wasn’t stuffed into his mouth. How was he able to do all of that? It was as if Louis had four hands.

Harry was just aware enough to know that this was an exceptional experience. No one had ever played his body like this. As soon as one sensation threatened to become overwhelming, he'd switch to something else. The room was filled with a high pitched squeal and it took a moment for Harry to realize it was coming from him. Louis pulled off of his cock long enough to say, “You gonna come, baby?” before he slurped the head back into the tight heat of his mouth, dug a fingernail into Harry’s nipple, pressed hard into his spot and he was coming harder than he ever had in his life. His hips stuttered uncontrollably as he grunted and filled Louis’ mouth with come. He must have blacked out for a moment because when he regained awareness, Louis was sitting next to him, gently wiping the remains of the chocolate ganache from his body with a damp cloth.

Harry tried to move, to reach for Louis’ cock, he was probably desperate to get off, but he couldn’t. He was spent. He croaked, “Lou, let me… you didn’t come…”

Louis chuckled, “Oh, yes, I did. I just cleaned it off your belly.” He rubbed circles on Harry’s tummy with the palm of his hand. “You’re really out of it, huh?”

Harry hummed and nodded as Louis placed a soft kiss to his cheek, snuggled up next to him and pulled the blankets over them. He was distantly aware of Matilda burrowing herself into the crook of his neck as he drifted off to sleep.

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Harry stretched his legs and pointed his toes, but he didn’t open his eyes. If he opened his eyes, he’d officially be awake, then it would officially be Christmas, and he wasn’t ready for that. He knew it hadn’t snowed, it hadn’t been cold enough and the sky had cleared after the week of rain and gloom.

He would somehow figure out how to make a meal in Niall’s shitty kitchen, he would have a nice day with Louis, even though part of him couldn’t help but remember that this was just pretend. They were playing house or something and it would all come crashing down around him in a week’s time. He sighed. He wouldn’t open his eyes just yet. He snuggled closer to Louis. Instead of their usual spoon formation, Harry had somehow ended up on his back with his arm around Louis’ shoulders. Louis had one arm slung across Harry’s belly, one leg woven between both of Harry’s, and his head on Harry’s chest. Nope, he wouldn’t be officially awake, this was a perfect Christmas morning.

Louis hummed and scratched his fingers in the sparse hair on Harry’s chest. “Merry Christmas.” Harry could feel Louis’ smile where his face was pressed against him.

Harry grumbled a bit. “It’s not Christmas until I open my eyes and I’m not opening my eyes, so…”

Louis huffed and lifted his head, “Really? That’s a silly thing to say.” He walked his fingers up Harry’s chest and placed two against Harry’s closed mouth and traced along his lips. “My eyes are open, so does that mean it’s only Christmas for me?”

Harry hummed. “Maybe. I’m not sure how it works for other people.”

Louis rubbed his thumb over Harry’s eyebrows, smoothing the short hairs, then he tapped his nose. “How do you think it works for Matilda? She’s standing over there next to her empty food dish. She’s giving you the eye. Do you think it’s Christmas for her?” He laid his head back down on Harry’s chest.

Harry lightly stroked Louis’ back with his fingers. “No. She’s a cat. Christmas is a human contrivance designed to make people feel guilty and sad and spend money.”

“You don’t mean that.” Louis lightly bit his nipple and Harry hissed. “Sore?”

“A little. I like it though.”

Louis untangled himself from Harry and climbed out of bed. “I’ll feed the little beast, but you should wake up, you know, officially. C’mon, I got you a present. A little one. You’ll like it, I think.”

“You did?” Harry cracked one eye open. “What is it?”

“You have to get up, baby.” Louis sucked in a breath and paused at his words, then carried on in a singsong voice. “Up, up, up. It’s Christmas!”

Harry tried not to read anything into the term of endearment. It was a simple slip, right? His obvious pause was because he realized that he didn’t mean to say it, right? They’d only called each other by their names. Harry had actually been very deliberate about it. He’d slipped and called him Lou a time or two, but he’d had to stop himself from calling him babe or baby, especially during sex. Ugh. This whole thing was going to kill him.

He slowly opened his eyes and started to push himself up to sitting, but when he saw the room around him, full of twinkly lights, with fake snow on the window, and a tiny Christmas tree on the dresser, he flopped back down to the mattress and lay there with a hand over his mouth. He spent a solid minute with his eyes darting around the room, taking it all in, and trying to fight the tears that wanted to well up in his eyes.

Everything was perfect. He was stuck in this shitty, tiny, hole-in-the-wall apartment, his family and friends were away and would be for at least another week, he wasn’t going to be able to cook a traditional Christmas dinner in Niall’s crazy oven, and it didn’t snow, but still, it was everything he could ever want on a Christmas morning. He didn’t need presents or a big tree or snow or any of that, he was so happy to wake up with Louis and then, to see what Louis had done for him made him… The realization struck him like a punch to the gut and the tears fought harder to fall. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. It would be okay. One more week of this… whatever it was with Louis and they would just be friends. Niall’s friends who hung out occasionally, maybe met up at the bar, went out dancing now and then, just friends. He would get over this. This crush. His feelings would pass and everything would be fine. He sucked in a deep breath and sat up. He knew his eyes were shining with tears, but he figured he could pass them off as happy ones.

Louis was squatting down next to Matilda, scratching her ears while she ate her breakfast. When Harry sat up, he stood and walked over to the bed. “Um, well, what do you think?”

Harry stood up and glanced around the room again. “I can’t believe this. When did you… I don’t…”

Louis’ blue eyes sparkled, the twinkly lights reflected from all around, but Harry thought they’d probably sparkle on their own. “Last night. I, um, did it while you were sleeping. See, this tree came from your second-hand shop. I had actually already been there before you took me yesterday.” He smirked a bit at that. “I got the lights there, too.” He waved a hand around the room. “And the snow in a can was like two dollars at the pharmacy, so… Merry Christmas, Harry.” He walked closer to Harry, tilted his face upwards and caught Harry’s lips in a kiss that was probably a little too filthy for unbrushed teeth first thing in the morning, but if Louis didn’t care, neither did Harry. After a moment, he pulled back and said, “I got you a present, and you’re going to laugh, I know.” He pointed to the tiny bag next to the little fake tree.

Harry picked it up, looked at him and grinned. “You didn’t have to get me anything. I didn’t get you anything. I’m sorry.” He opened the bag and pulled out a bottle of lube. The same brand that he’d given Louis for his birthday the day before. He barked a laugh, “Great minds, yeah?”

The rest of Christmas morning passed in a haze. Harry still felt a little out of it from the night before, so he took a nap after lunch. He woke to the music of Louis’ voice. He rubbed his eyes and rolled over to see what was going on. Louis was sprawled in the wingback chair with Matilda curled up on his shoulder and his phone to his ear. He wiggled his fingers at Harry and stuck his tongue out.

“Of course, I’m still pissed, Neil. You’ve forced me to share your shithole apartment with Harry and he’s a very strange man.” He sat up and put Matilda on the floor, crooked his finger and beckoned Harry over to him. “He’s practically naked all the time, Ni. What the hell were you thinking?”

Harry stepped in front of the chair and shivered. Whether that was due to the low temperature or from Louis’ gaze, he didn’t know, but he had his suspicions. Louis trailed a finger along the waistband of Harry’s briefs while he continued his conversation. “Yeah, we’ve had some fun. Showed me around town. He’s alright. Not sure why you’re friends with him though.” He winked at Harry as he traced the outline of Harry’s cock, then leaned forward to mouth at it through the fabric of his briefs. Harry clenched his teeth to stifle a moan; he was so sensitive to Louis’ every touch.

Louis looked up at him and caught his eye; he gestured for Harry to turn around and he immediately complied. “Um hmm. Yeah. Niall, when are you coming back again?” He slipped his fingers inside Harry's briefs and tugged them down over his bum, all the while carrying on a phone conversation like he wasn't sitting there with Harry's ass six inches from his face. He felt Louis’ hands spread him apart and a finger lightly trace along his crack. He bit his lip in anticipation of whatever would come next, but the expectation turned to disappointment when Louis pulled his briefs back up and patted the side of his bum. Harry turned back around, confused until he heard, “Ni, my mom's calling. I gotta go.” Louis leaned forward and placed a kiss underneath Harry's belly button, looked up and mouthed the word sorry as he answered his mom's call. “Merry Christmas, Ma.”

Harry ran his fingers through Louis hair and scratched at his scalp, then went to the bathroom for a long shower. He grabbed a pair of sweatpants on the way, maybe there would be less temptation if he wore them.

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Harry wouldn't dare try to cook anything more complicated than pasta or eggs in Niall's kitchen again. He planned to hold a grudge against the appliance forever because of Louis’ burnt cake, but he didn't know what to do about Christmas dinner. He had all of the ingredients, but figured he'd just haul it all back to his apartment once things were fixed over there. He closed the door to the fridge with a huff.

Louis wrapped his arms around him from behind, hooked his chin over Harry's shoulder and swayed their bodies back and forth. “I'm ordering Chinese. It'll be just like A Christmas Story. _You'll shoot your eye out._ ” He sounded just like the movie. “Maybe you could freeze all that stuff. You can have a Christmas dinner do over in February or something.”

“My birthday’s in February.” Harry pointed out, “The first.”

“Hmmm...well, maybe you could cook Christmas dinner on Valentine's Day.” Louis ran his hands over Harry’s bare chest, rubbing his oversensitive nipples with the heels of his hands. “Restaurants are always overpriced and crowded anyway.”

“Maybe.” God, it sounded like Louis was making plans with him for Valentine's Day. He could only hope. This whole thing was so confusing. He needed to talk to his sister. He blinked and then furrowed his brow. Wait. He hadn't talked to his sister or his mom all day. Why hadn't they called? On Christmas? Niall hadn't called either and he'd called Louis. This situation was fucking up his head. He's been so wrapped up with Louis that he'd forgotten about everything and everyone else and on Christmas. Where was his phone?

He spun around in Louis’ arms, “Have you seen my phone?”

“Hmm...don't think so. Didn't you have it earlier? I thought you called your family while I was in the shower.” He reached up and stroked the line between Harry’s eyebrows with his thumb.

“No, I just realized I haven't spoken to anyone but you all day. Shit. I hope I didn't leave it at work. I don't remember having it yesterday.” What was happening to him? He was always on his phone—texting, playing games, making lists. “I bet it's in my car. I'll be right back.” He slipped on his boots, threw his coat on over his sweatpants, grabbed his keys and shut the door behind him.

He found his phone wedged between the driver's seat and the center console and the battery was almost dead. He had more than a dozen missed calls and voicemails. He started up his car, plugged in the charger, and sent a text to Louis telling him that he was going to be a few minutes. Then he called his mom. He opened with a sincere apology for not answering their calls; he missed his family and, though he was having a great time with Louis, a part of him still wished he’d been able to join their skiing holiday. He filled her in on his week, and told her about Louis in a roundabout way, though he was sure she could read into what he wasn’t saying. Then, she put him on speakerphone to say hello to his step-dad, his sister and her boyfriend. He sniffled a little as they said goodbye and wished each other Merry Christmas, but they made plans to get lunch when they got back. He hung up and immediately called his sister.

Gemma was his best friend, the best person he knew, and he always went to her for advice. She answered on the first ring with no greeting, just, “Why the fuck didn’t you call me earlier?”

Harry huffed a laugh, “Sorry. I’m sorry. My phone was in my car and I… well, I got caught up in something else.”

“Someone else, you mean,” Gemma was never one to mince words, “Mom said there’s a boy staying at Niall’s with you. Hmm?”

“Yeah. Louis. Ugh.” He tried to gather his thoughts, but it was useless. “Okay, I have to try and be quick, actually, because I’m sitting in my car while I talk to you.”

“What the hell? Why?” He could envision her face, eyebrow raised, lip slightly curled.

“I don’t want him to overhear.” He heaved a sigh, “Gems it’s awful.”

“What do you mean awful? Is he an asshole?” He could hear her closing a door, probably stepping outside so she wouldn’t be overheard. “Mom said you sounded like you liked this guy. Don’t fall for a dickhead, Harry.”

“No, no, no. He’s lovely. Perfect, actually. You’d really like him.” He scratched at a stain on his sweatpants. It was probably come. He was a wreck. Hiding from Louis in his car, wearing boots with no socks, dirty sweatpants, no shirt, and a coat. “It’s just… um, we’ve been sleeping together since, like, day one.”

“Really? That’s fast, H. Not usually your style, is it?” The rhythm of her concerned voice was actually soothing him.

“No, but, um, it’s a long story, but we sort of fell into it and now I am completely losing my shit. I am falling so hard and in like a week, we’ll go to our own apartments and we’ll just be friends.” With each word, his voice pitched higher until he had to pause for a breath. “I am already so attached, Gems, this is the worst.”

“I don’t get it. Why do you have to just be friends? I hope you can hear my air quotes.” This was why he needed his sister. Blunt, Honest. Good qualities. She knew what he needed to hear, and wouldn’t tell him anything just because he _wanted_ to hear it. He didn’t know the answer to her question.

“H? Why?” Persistent. Another good quality. He should write her resume.

“Shit. I don’t know, Gems. We hardly know each other. I mean, we said…” He rested his forehead on the steering wheel and continued to scratch at the spot on his pants.

“We said?” Her voice was quieter. Ugh. She was going to ask about the feelings. “Have you talked about it at all or have you just been fucking nonstop?”

He couldn’t help it, he laughed. “No, I mean, yes, we have been fucking nonstop, but not fucking? Everything except fucking. But, um, yeah, we talked about it after the first time. We said we’d see where things went.”

“Okay, this doesn’t actually sound that bad, Harry. Are you sure you’re not just being your dramatic self? What about everything else? The not-sex?” She did know him better than anyone else, maybe he was being overly dramatic.

“He’s so lovely, Gems, so lovely.” The words rushed out of him and he didn’t try to stop them. He had to tell someone and who better than Gemma. “He’s, um, during the week he had dinner ready for me every night when I got back from work. Just leftovers, but still. Um, I showed him around town a bit. We went to the park and made wishes at the fountain and he held my hand. And, um, he decorated Niall’s apartment while I was sleeping last night—fake snow and a little tree and lights everywhere—because he knew I was missing you guys and I told him how much I love decorations and stuff. Plus, um, we didn’t get any snow.”

Silence.

He looked at his phone to make sure the battery was alright and he hadn’t accidentally hung up, “Gemma? You there?”

“Harry,” she answered slowly, “do you hear yourself?”

“Yes?” He waited for the punchline of a joke that he didn’t understand.

“Okay, then you tell me,” she proposed. “Would it be a normal thing to do all that for someone that you want to be ‘just friends’ with?”

“I definitely heard the air quotes that time.” Not a joke then. She made a good point. “Um, no, I guess not. Don’t tell mom, but I tried to secretly bake him a birthday cake and almost set Niall’s apartment on fire. Then he ate ganache off my nipples, among other things.”

She snorted. “Oh my god, Harry, that is more than I wanted to know. My opinion? That dude likes you, like big time. So do something about it. Say something.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Maybe. He saw the Chinese food delivery guy exit Niall’s building. He must have missed his arrival. “Thanks, Gems. I’ll, um, think about it and let you know, okay?”

“Okay. Love you, baby brother. Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas, Gems, love you too.”

Harry turned off the ignition, pocketed his keys and texted Niall as he climbed the stairs.

_Merry xmas Ni. can’t talk. No battery. Love you man._

**Merry xmas H. are you and Louis fucking in my bed?**

_No fucking. Promise. btw matilda is fine and loves me the most._

Harry laughed as he let himself back into the apartment. He wasn’t technically lying, so he wasn’t going to feel bad about it. Especially since he didn’t really know what was going on with Louis. He didn’t want to tell the one friend they had in common and make things weird.

They spent Christmas night bundled up in the bed, eating Chinese food and watching old movies on Louis’ laptop. Harry didn’t mention anything and he didn’t plan to, at least not until he took the time to really pay attention to Louis’ behavior toward him this week. He realized that he’d been so caught up in his own head, worried about catching feelings, getting too close, having his heart broken, and focusing on the end of their time in Niall’s apartment, that he hadn’t really watched Louis to see if he might feel the same. From what Gemma had said, he might. He found himself looking forward to work in the morning, just to get some distance and clear his head.

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By Thursday night, Harry was pretty sure Louis felt, well, something. Ever since he talked to Gemma, he couldn’t even think the words ‘just friends’ without hearing the air quotes and imagining her eye roll. He’d watched him over the week and tried to look at his behavior from an outsider’s perspective, and it looked a lot like Louis was his boyfriend. Like a really good boyfriend. Of course, he wasn’t, but from Harry’s imaginary out of body perspective, it appeared that way.

Louis had been looking after Harry all week. He cooked a bunch of pasta for dinner on Tuesday and made sure there were leftovers for the rest of the week. He’d gone grocery shopping and replaced everything they’d eaten and had even done Harry’s laundry. He had taken to sending random texts during the day—pictures of Matilda chasing her flashlight, ideas for new wishes for the fountain, selfies, and twice, dick pics. They’d had amazing sex almost every day, and it seemed impossible, but it kept getting better.

Harry wanted to fuck him, but he wasn’t going to do that while he was still in this state of limbo. Niall would be back on Monday, and Harry’s apartment was supposed to be fixed by then as well. He’d have to say something. Do something. And see where it goes.

Liam called while Harry was taking his lunch break on Friday. “Hey, man, what happened to you? I called you on Christmas.”

“Shit, man, sorry.” Harry mumbled around his mouthful of sandwich. “My phone was dead and I had so many messages and missed calls, I forgot to get back to you. Did you have a good Christmas? How was Anton’s family?”

“Yeah, it was good. His family was, well, they were alright.” Liam seemed relieved to have the whole meet the parents thing over with. “Having extra people in the apartment was a bit strange, but it was good, yeah. How about you? How’s the work on the apartment going?”

“I actually have no clue.” He fished around the bottom of the package for another chip. “I need to call and find out. I can’t stay at Niall’s forever.”

“True. So, listen, I know it’s short notice, but Anton and I are throwing a party tomorrow for New Years Eve.” Liam almost sounded nervous. “Think you can make it?”

Harry hurried to reassure him, “Yeah, okay, man. I’ll be there.” He hesitated a second before adding, “I might bring someone.”

“Really?” Liam’s shock was evident as he continued, “You’re seeing someone? Who? How come I didn’t know?”

“Um, it’s, well,” Harry tried to decide how to word it, this thing with Louis, “It’s new, we’re not like officially together or anything. He’s Niall’s friend from home and it’s a long story that I don’t want to get into, but he’s staying at Niall’s too.”

“Really? Okay, then, H, promise to tell me that long story another time.”

“Yeah, maybe. See you tomorrow night. Bye, Li.” He hung up as he crumbled his trash and tossed it in the garbage can. He slipped his phone into his pocket and headed back to work.

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Harry shivered as he exited the bank and made his way through the parking lot to his car. It had gotten steadily colder throughout the day and now the temperature had dropped below freezing. He drove to Niall’s place thinking of ways to broach the subject of New Year’s Eve with Louis. He wanted to take him to the party as his official date. Dropping hints wouldn’t work; they’d been practically living together and acting like a couple from that first morning. Nope. He was going to have to borrow a page from Gemma’s book and be blunt. He climbed the stairs to the apartment still thinking how to word things. He opened the door to find Louis standing in the kitchen by the microwave, a spoon in one hand, wearing only his underwear. His back was to the door and he was wearing headphones, shaking his bum to whatever music he was listening to, so he wasn’t aware of Harry’s presence. Harry quietly closed the door and leaned against the counter to watch. His mouth dropped open when Louis started singing along to the music, using the spoon as a microphone.

_I'm slippin down a chain reaction_  
_And here I go here I go here I go go_  
_And once again I'm yours in fractions_  
_It takes me down pulls me down pulls me down low_

On the last word, he dropped down, his hands on his bent knees, his back arched, his gorgeous ass, barely covered in his thin briefs, popped out, then he slowly straightened his legs, and rolled back up to standing. Harry’s mouth hung open and his heart thudded in his chest. His hands were sweating. His face was hot. It was getting harder to breathe. He stepped closer, tried to set his keys on the counter, but instead they fell noisily to the floor. Louis shrieked as he spun around, brandishing the spoon as a weapon. They stood staring open mouthed and wide eyed at each other—Louis with his spoon pointed at Harry’s face, Harry with both hands still outstretched where he’d been reaching for Louis’ hips. A moment later, they were both cackling so hard that Harry had to lean on the kitchen counter to support his weight and Louis was hiccupping between peals of laughter.

“You scared the shit out of me, Harry!” Louis panted as he tried to stop his hiccups. Tossing the spoon into the sink, he pulled his phone out of his underwear, where he’d apparently stuck it while he was dancing around the kitchen, and set it on the counter with his earbuds.

“Sorry. I’m sorry.” Harry pushed himself off the counter and picked up his dropped keys. “I came in and you didn’t hear me. I was just watching you, and then you did that thing with your ass, and you were just so hot dancing like that and--”

Louis finally managed to stop hiccupping long enough to smack his own ass and wink. “Thought that was hot, did ya?”

“Yeah, yeah, of course,” Harry ran his fingers through his hair. Honesty. “It was, shit. I can barely keep my hands off of you as it is.”

“Really?” Louis hummed and scratched at his scruffy beard. Harry couldn’t remember Louis shaving it since, well, since he’d mentioned that he liked to feel it when they kissed. Hmm.

“Walking around in nothing but that.” Harry pointed at Louis’ tiny briefs. "With your legs," he pointedly let his eyes travel slowly all the way down them and back up.

"And your chest," he stepped closer, reached out and thumbed at Louis' nipples, then trailed his fingers up, over his shoulder, cupped his hand around the back of Louis’ neck, gripped his hip with the other and nuzzled the scruff on his cheek and jaw as he pressed closer.

"Your perfect face," he slotted his leg between Louis', his voice pitched lower and his lips brushed the shell of his ear as he continued, "and your thighs." He pressed forward, slid his hands around and trailed them up and down the smooth, bare skin.

Your back," then he moved his hands lower, one on each cheek, squeezed and pulled him closer so that Louis would be sure to feel his growing erection pressing into his hip.

"And your ass?" He wedged his leg higher, so that Louis’ was practically riding his thigh. “Honestly, I’m surprised I get anything done at all.”

Louis whimpered as he buried his face in the crook of Harry’s neck. He nipped at the skin there before he pulled back and scoffed, “You just listed off, like, all of my body parts except for my dick, Harry.”

Harry stepped back, going from seductive to anxious in a split second, he sputtered, “Oh my god, no, your dick is perfect.”

Louis closed the distance between them again, so they were standing toe to toe, and chided, “But you just said my face was perfect.”

Harry’s hands went to Louis’ hips, gripped them and pulled him close. Their faces were mere inches from each other. He couldn’t let Louis throw him off balance again; he took a steadying breath. “Well, I’d say that there’s a three way tie between your face, your ass, and your cock. Your cock has a special place in my heart, Lou; it was the first thing I saw when I opened the bathroom door that first day.” He closed his eyes as if to watch the moment replay in his mind. “I was freaked out that there was someone in the apartment, in the shower of all places, and maybe I should've been more worried.” He opened his eyes and met Louis’ bright blue ones, and he couldn’t control his grin as he concluded, “But I saw your cock and all I could think was, like, damn, that is a beautiful penis.”

Louis chuckled. “Harold. That's all very superficial. I think I'm offended.”

Harry’s lips split into a dirty grin. “You don’t _feel_ offended.” He ground their hips together, Louis’ hard cock was evident through his thin briefs. “But I would never want to upset you. Let me show you just how sorry I am.” He slid his hands down, cupped his ass and kneaded the muscles. “Let me make it up to you. Please.” He lifted Louis off the floor, wrapped his legs around his waist, carried him to the bed and proceeded to thoroughly apologize until they were both sprawled across the sheets, panting, sweaty and covered in come.

Harry’s chest was still heaving as he rode his post-orgasm high. His eyes were on the twinkling lights hanging from the ceiling as he said, “Liam and Anton are having a party tomorrow night. For New Year’s. Do you want to go? Like, with me?” Harry held his breath and waited. Had he asked properly? He’d wanted to be casual about it, but make it clear that it was a date.

Louis reached over and linked their hands together. “Yeah, I’d like that.” He squeezed Harry’s hand. “Hey, so, should I dress up for this party? I have a suitcase of nicer clothes in my car.”

“Yeah, sure. I was going to drive over to my apartment in the morning and grab something to wear. All I have here are work clothes and sweats. You hungry?”

They ate their leftover pasta sitting on the edge of the bed. Sex was hungry work.

While Louis ran down to his car, Harry washed their bowls and spoons and placed them on the rack to dry. As he was wiping down the counter, his phone rang. When he saw it was his landlord calling, he quickly answered. After a short conversation, he hung up and tossed his phone onto the bed. The sides of Harry’s mouth turned up in a private smile. His apartment would be ready in the morning and he planned to invite Louis to stay with him until he could move into his own place. Maybe they could test out this whole thing in a different environment and, hopefully, take a step towards something real. He flopped back on the bed to wait for Louis, trying to decide whether to tell him about his apartment or wait and surprise him. They’d had so much fun surprising each other for Christmas, even though Harry had almost set the place on fire, and he wanted a chance to try again.

Once Louis hauled his suitcase upstairs, they snuggled under two blankets and settled in to watch Netflix.

Harry woke up disoriented. They must have fallen asleep watching _A Christmas Story_ because his laptop was off, but still open and Louis was drooling on his shoulder. He set the laptop on the floor and looked at the clock on the microwave—three o’clock in the morning. Shuffling around, he tugged Louis down on top of him and fell back to sleep with Louis on his chest, his arms wrapped around him.

They slept late the next day, so by the time they finished breakfast, it was after noon. Louis drained the last of the coffee from his cup, grabbed a folder full of papers from his bag and plopped it down into the wingback chair. “I had orientation yesterday for teaching and they gave me all this stuff to read and sign, ugh. Boring.” He looked from the stack of papers to where Harry was standing by the bed folding the pile of their clean laundry. “This is going to take forever. I guess I’ll go ahead and shower, then get started with this shit.”

Harry caught him around the waist as he approached the bed. “I’ve got to run to my place to get some clothes. And, um, I’ve got some other stuff to do, so I won’t be here to bother you while you do your work. Anything you need while I’m out?”

Popping up on his toes, Louis kissed Harry on the forehead and said, “Nothing I can think of.” Another quick kiss on his lips and he slipped out of the circle of Harry’s arms and into the bathroom.

As soon as Harry heard him start the shower, he was a whirlwind of efficiency, throwing all of the clothes from the bed into his bags, shoving all of the food from the fridge into grocery bags, unplugging his coffee pot, and somehow lugging it all down to his car in one trip. He shoved it all into the backseat and took off for his apartment.

From the phone call with his landlord, Harry expected his apartment to look just as he’d left it, but instead it was a mess. At least the pipes didn’t knock and bang when he turned on the water and hot water came out almost immediately instead of taking forever to warm up. After putting the Christmas dinner food in the freezer, he set about cleaning the place from top to bottom. With fresh sheets on his bed, he fluffed his comforter and pillows and sprayed them with his favorite lavender linen scent, then stripped to his underwear to clean the bathroom.

Once the mess in there was taken care of, he started the bath. He’d missed his tub. It wasn’t anything special, but Niall’s tiny shower was enough for efficient washing and that was it. While waiting for the tub to fill, he shaved the sparse hairs from his face, then he threw in some bath salts and oils and sank down into the fragrant steamy water. With a deep conditioning mask in his hair, he soaked in the tub until his phone pinged with a message from Louis.

**Did you take some of my clothes?**

_Maybe with some of the laundry I brought back here. I’ll check._

Harry quickly toweled off, brushed his teeth and styled his hair. With all the cleaning, he’d lost track of time, and if he didn’t hurry they’d be more than fashionably late.

He’d been wearing the same clothes over and over again for two weeks. Trousers and button down shirts to work, sweatpants and t-shirts (or less) around Niall’s place. He pulled out his favorite shirt that his sister had given it to him two years before at Christmas. The shirt was magic; he wore it when he wanted to feel especially good about himself because he never failed to at least get a number, if not more than one, and he didn’t even have to try. Sheer black fabric that felt lovely on his skin, it was embroidered with beautiful red flowers, and showed off his chest and stomach so that all of his tattoos were visible. He dug around in the bottom of his closet for his favorite glittery gold boots, then pulled a pair of tight black jeans out of his dresser. Slipping his phone and his wallet into his pockets, he pulled his nice black coat out of his closet, spritzed himself with Chanel Bleu, and headed outside. Cabs were usually a luxury, but tonight he wasn’t going to drive. While waiting for his taxi, his phone pinged with another message.

**Niall’s here and he wants to leave for the party, so we’re otw.**

_He’s back early! Ok. See you there :)_

Liam met him at the door and led him to the bedroom where they were keeping everyone’s coats. Harry hung his coat in Liam’s closet, he wasn’t taking the chance of someone throwing up or having sex on it. He followed Liam back out toward the party, but they detoured into the bright light of the kitchen. “Hey, man, thought you were bringing someone.”

“Yeah, he’s actually riding with Niall. They should be here any minute, if they’re not already.”

“Oh, Louis? They got here just before you did.” Liam laughed and added, “He flipped out when he met Anton. I think he and Niall ran out to the store to get more solo cups.”

“Aw, shit.” Harry pouted. “I wanted to be there for that. He’s a big fan and I wanted to see him freak out when he realized he was _that_ Anton.”

“Well, I’m sorry you missed it. It was fun to watch.” Liam shrugged and gave a little smile of commiseration. “Anton’s already left me for the music, so, it’s me and you then. Drink?”

Harry smiled. He missed living with Liam. “You’re always a great date, Li. What are we drinking?”

Harry tried to decide what to drink while Liam pulled a tray of what looked like chocolate pudding cups out of the fridge. “I made these for tonight. It’s marshmallow vodka and Godiva liqueur in chocolate pudding. They’re like jello shots, but I call them hot cocoa shots. Except they’re cold.”

Harry tipped one back and swallowed. “Shit, that’s good. Gimme another. Wait, can I have a drink like this? What could I mix it with?”

“Um, I think I have some hot cocoa mix in the cabinet and there’s plenty of liqueur left. You want to flip the kettle on? I think I’ll have one too.”

Soon enough, Liam and Harry were drinking double spiked hot cocoa out of oversized mugs, walking around with chocolate mustaches and having a great time, but he hadn’t seen Louis yet. The apartment was packed full of people and Harry had missed all of the awkward introductions and sober dancing by arriving late. Now there were sweaty bodies all over the living room, pressed together, moving to the beat. Anton always played the best music, it was definitely a plus to Liam being engaged to a DJ. Maybe after another drink Harry would brave the makeshift dance floor. Midnight was fast approaching and Harry was anxious to see Louis and tell him about his apartment. He headed for the balcony hoping to have a few moments to himself, but when he opened the door, he was met with a familiar face.

“Niall? What the fuck are you doing here? I thought you were at the store. Where’s Louis?” Harry shivered and hugged his arms around his middle. His sheer shirt did nothing to protect his body from the rapidly dropping temperature.

Niall lightly punched Harry’s shoulder and grinned. “We’ve been back for a while. Like half and hour. Listen, I need to talk to you about Louis.”

“What’s wrong? Is he okay?”

“Yeah, I mean, he’s fine, I guess. He’s inside. He--”

Just then, Harry heard a familiar song coming through the speakers. “Is this one of Anton’s songs?” He turned and rushed back into the party. The music was loud, the voice coming through the speakers sounded familiar, but he knew this song for a different reason. His mind flashed back to the night before, to Louis dancing and singing in the kitchen.

Louis. There he was on the makeshift dancefloor, swaying to the beat, his eyes closed, hands in the air, surrounded by bodies moving to the music. He looked amazing. His hair was styled in a messy sideswept thing that gave the impression that he’d just rolled out of bed, he wore a bright blue button down shirt, open at the neck and with the sleeved pushed up to showed off his tattoos, tight black jeans, and brown suede boots. He was gorgeous. From where he was dancing, he couldn’t see Harry approaching, so Harry left his drink on the table by the balcony door and wove his way across the room. Standing back a bit, he watched Louis move, his ass looked fantastic in those jeans and he’d bet a million dollars and a pony that he wasn’t wearing any underwear.

Okay, he could do this. All he had to do was invite Louis to stay at his place for a few weeks, easy peasy.

As he closed in on Louis, he watched, stunned, as Louis looped his arms around the neck of some guy whose presence Harry hadn’t even registered until that moment. Deep breath. They were just dancing. It was cool. Harry would just dance near them until the song was over or stand there awkwardly waiting. No big deal. He bopped along to the music, feeling more and more ridiculous. Cutting in was a thing, wasn’t it? This wasn’t ballroom dancing, but it was an acceptable thing to do, right? The guy’s hands were sitting low on Louis’ back and the sight was making Harry feel nauseated. This wasn’t just dancing anymore, they were practically grinding on each other. What the hell was going on? Why hadn’t Louis come looking for him when he and Niall had returned from the store?

He inched toward Louis and reached out a hand to tap him on the shoulder just as Louis spoke, “Yeah, I’m single. Wouldn’t be dancing with you like this if I wasn’t.”

And, sure, they weren’t together, but hearing those words knocked the breath out of Harry. He staggered backwards, bumping into someone. Niall. He grabbed Harry by the shoulders to steady him and shouted over the music, “Harry! You alright, man?”

At the sound of Harry’s name, Louis’ head whipped around, but the expression on his face was one of contempt and scorn. Harry turned his head and nodded to let Niall know he wasn’t going to fall over, then turned to Louis to find his back facing him again. Harry closed his eyes and thought of Gemma. Communication. Honest. Blunt. Persistent. He refused to walk away without finding out what had gone wrong.

The song ended, Louis and his dance partner separated, and the guy walked away, presumably to use the restroom or fetch them drinks. So Harry did the first thing that came to mind, as another song started up, he stepped up behind Louis, put his hands on his hips and began to sway with him. Louis’ head swung around to see who was dancing with him and his mouth dropped open when he saw it was Harry. He closed his mouth turned back around to continue dancing and reached down to remove Harry’s hands from his waist.

Harry lowered his lips to the shell of Louis’ ear and spoke just loud enough for him to hear over the music, “Louis, are you… why are you acting like this? Like you’re pissed at me. What hap--”

Louis spun around and snarled, “I fucking am. I am pissed at you. Asshole.”

Dumbfounded, Harry’s mouth dropped open, he stuttered out, “I… What did I… What did I do?”

“What did you do?” Louis took a step back and crossed his arms over his chest. “You mean besides taking off with all of your stuff while I was in the shower? Fucking bailing on me without a word?”

Shaking his head, Harry stammered, “No, no, no.” He extended his hand to touch Louis’ arm reassuringly, but Louis snatched it away. “Louis, please, I can explain, just, um, can you come outside with me? On the balcony?”

Louis stared at him for a few seconds, then rolled his eyes. “Fine.” He sneered. “You’ve got two minutes.”

Harry guided him towards the balcony door, a light hand on his lower back, while Louis tried to shake him off. Once outside, Harry slid the glass door shut and stepped closer to Louis. “Please, just listen, okay? I’m really sorry. There’s been, well, it’s my fault, but there’s been a misunderstanding. My landlord called last night to tell me that my place was ready and--”

“That’s why you took all your shit then? You took some of my clothes, you know.” Louis shivered and rubbed his arms. “It’s fucking cold out here. Are you done?”

“Let me, um, let me finish, okay? I went over to get my clothes and I’d planned on coming back to Niall’s place after, but my place was a mess. It was gross, so I cleaned like fucking crazy and kind of lost track of time.”

“Great. So are you finished? I need to get back to my date.”

Harry snorted. “He’s not your date. I’m your date.”

“No, I came with Niall, he’s my date. You fucking cleared out today, so why would you be my date?”

Harry huffed a little laugh. “I cleaned my apartment from top to bottom today because I wanted you to come stay with me until that apartment is available. I wanted to surprise you.” He watched as understanding settled on Louis’ features, then he gripped Louis’ hips and pulled him closer so he could whisper in his ear. He could feel Louis’ body relaxing against him. “I was really excited when I found out that my place was all fixed.”

Harry didn’t have to see it to know Louis rolled his eyes as he said, “Obviously.”

“Well, evidently not as obvious as I was trying to be.” Harry leaned back, then winked and clucked his tongue. “I’m really sorry, Louis. I didn’t mean to upset you. I keep fucking up my surprises. I burned your cake and now this. So, will you please come stay with me? I have heat and a full sized kitchen. And a bathtub. And a bigger bed.”

Louis smiled and he leaned in closer to share Harry’s body heat. The music pulsed inside the apartment, but it was loud enough to hear it from the balcony, so with his hands on Louis’ hips, Harry began to sway their bodies together.

“You were kind of mean to me tonight.” Harry pinched his hip. “You thought I was leaving, but I wanted to take you with me. You know, to see how things go.”

Louis reached up and laced his fingers together behind Harry’s neck and started to dance. Harry wrapped his arms tighter around his waist and moved with him to the beat. “I was. I don’t know what else to say other than I’m sorry. Um, and you were right. I thought you were done with our little arrangement. I was an ass to you.” He rested his head on Harry’s shoulder.

“You were.” Harry agreed. “I wanted to surprise you. But I wasn’t honest with you. I want to be though. Tell you everything.”

Louis looked up and met his eyes. “Yeah, like what?”

Honesty. He could do this. “Like, I want to date you. No more of this let’s see where things go business. I want to do it properly. Be exclusive. Want to call you my boyfriend and all that. And cook you a do-over Christmas dinner on Valentine's Day.”

The smile that spread across Louis’ face was blinding. The corners of his eyes crinkled and he was so beautiful. “Yeah? I’d like that.”

“Well, that's settled then.” Harry trailed his hands up and down Louis’ back. “This whole blunt and honest thing is working pretty well.”

Louis nodded. “Does being your boyfriend come with any weird rules or requests?”

“Besides letting that dude you were dancing with know you’re no longer single?” Harry lifted a finger to his chin in a look of faux concentration. “You know how you were dancing in the kitchen last night? Can you, um, can you not do that thing you did with your ass? I don’t know if I can handle that right now.”

“Yeah, alright.” He agreed easily. “Maybe I’ll do it for you later, when we’re alone.”

“Does this mean you’ll come stay with me?”

“Can we go now? I really want to kiss you and I don't know if I can stop with just a kiss. Might not be appropriate behavior for public consumption.” He pressed their hips together and moved his body to the music.

Harry peeked through the glass door at the clock on the wall. “It’s almost midnight. You can kiss me then, and we can leave at 12:01, alright? Let’s go inside. It’s fucking cold out here.” Harry opened to door and Louis led him back into the party, pulling him into the crowd.

Once they were surrounded, Louis backed up into Harry’s arms, tilted his head back onto his shoulder and whispered, “I don’t have on any underwear.”

“I knew it.” Harry draped himself over Louis’ back. “I knew it when I saw these jeans.” He gripped his hips, slipped his hands around onto his belly and ground against Louis’ ass. He was going to get hard and was just about to drag Louis to the bathroom when the countdown began.

_Ten._

Harry twirled Louis in his arms, laughing at his sudden graceful movement, and caught him by the hips again.

_Nine._

Sliding his hands around Louis’ waist and down onto his perfect ass, he gave it a squeeze and tucked his hands into Louis’ back pockets.

_Eight._

They rested their foreheads against each other and the sound of all the party guests shouting along with the countdown surrounded them.

_Seven._

Louis slipped one hand around Harry’s neck, scratched at his short curls and Harry practically purred.

_Six._

Louis slid his other hand up Harry’s chest and rested it over his heart where he was bound to feel the wild pounding of Harry’s heart.

_Five._

Standing with their hips pressed together, their eyes locked; they were alone in a room full of people.

_Four._

Harry slid one hand out of Louis’ pocket and up his back to pull him closer, until there was no space left between them.

_Three._

Louis’ hand moved up to cup Harry’s cheek and he ran his thumb along his cheekbone.

_Two._

Their noses brushed past each other, their eyes slipped closed.

_One._

While the shouts for a happy new year rang out around the room, people blew whistles and party horns, and the crowd began to sing “Auld Lang Syne,” Louis and Harry’s lips pressed together and opened to immediately allow their tongues to slide inside, tasting, tracing over each other. Louis pulled Harry closer by his hair and Harry moaned into his mouth. He bit Louis’ lower lip and tugged it before mumbling against his mouth. “I think it’s 12:01.”

Louis shivered and nipped at Harry's lips. “Yeah, okay, take me home, big boy.”

The city had taxis out everywhere for the holiday, so it was only a few moments before they were headed to Harry's place. They'd grabbed their coats and snuck out without saying a proper goodbye to anyone, so they spent part of the ride texting back and forth with Liam and Niall. Liam was mainly disappointed that he didn't get to hang out with Louis, and Niall wanted clarification as to what exactly happened in his apartment while he'd been out of town. Louis reassured him that he'd washed the bedding, but refused to go into details about anything else. He finally shut off his phone when Niall started texting about Matilda's virgin eyes seeing things a baby kitten should never see.

The taxi dropped them off in front of Harry's building and Louis pulled him from the cab directly into a hot kiss. It was freezing outside, but their open mouths glided together easily. The wet heat of Louis’ mouth warmed Harry's entire body as their tongues danced and explored, mapping teeth and lips.

Harry could feel their warm breath lingering in the cold air around their faces, like they had created their own bubble of heat that was protecting them from the weather, until suddenly it wasn't anymore. They pulled apart to find that it was snowing; big, heavy flakes were falling all around them, sticking in their cold hair, and a few caught in Louis’ long eyelashes. Harry brushed them away. “C’mon,” he tugged Louis’ hand, “Inside before we freeze.” They stumbled up the stairs to Harry’s door, stopping every few steps for kisses, and Harry fumbled for a second before getting the key into the lock and opening the door. He guided Louis inside the apartment with a hand on his lower back and shut the door

Louis rested his back against the door, “Oh my god, it’s actually warm in here.” He shucked his coat, and draped it over his arm.

“I know.” Harry stepped into his space and nudged his nose against Louis’ cheek. “Normally I’m really conservative with the heat, but after freezing my ass off at Niall’s place, I bumped up the thermostat. Thought we could be naked in every room.” He placed a kiss on his jaw and started working on his neck. Now that Louis was officially his boyfriend, he wanted to mark him all over again.

Louis’ breath hitched at a particularly rough nip and he placed a hand on Harry’s chest and shoved. “Take me to your bedroom, Harold, now.”

Once inside his bedroom, Harry removed his coat and tossed it in the general direction of his closet. He tugged at Louis’ shirt, but Louis stopped him and walked backwards toward the bed. “I want to watch you take off your clothes, Harry. I didn’t get to appreciate this,” he waved his hand at Harry’s favorite shirt, “earlier. I’ve never seen you in clothes like this. Let me look at you.” He pulled his shirt over his head, kicked off his shoes, and settled himself in the middle of Harry’s bed in nothing but his skintight jeans.

Harry was still standing by the door, fully clothed. He wasn’t quite sure what to do, so he just started unbuttoning his shirt.

“No,” Louis commanded, “leave the shirt for now.” He popped the button on his own jeans and lowered the zipper, a thatch of light brown hair was visible where the zipper parted and Harry’s breath caught at the sight.

Unsure of his next step, he turned his back to the bed and stepped towards his closet. He had an idea. Looking down at his glittery gold boots, Harry spread his feet apart and slowly bent at the waist. He made sure to keep his legs straight so that when he ran his hands down the front of his jeans, his ass stayed high in the air. He unzipped his boots, then slowly rolled back up to standing. He kicked his boots into the closet, spun around and strolled towards the foot of the bed. Louis was watching him with dark eyes, his mouth parted, cheeks flushed pink, completely naked, hand slowly wanking himself. He’d taken off his jeans while Harry’s back was turned. Not fair. Harry had wanted the honor of taking those off. He felt the urge to pout, but he did get to see Louis’ fabulous cock, so he stopped his lip before it jutted out. Instead, he trailed his eyes up and down Louis’ body, locking his gaze on Louis’ face as he unfastened his jeans and unhurriedly peeled them down, taking his briefs with them. He was half hard just from watching Louis and thinking about getting his hands on him, so he wrapped his hand around his cock and gave himself a few slow tugs. It was only somewhat awkward when he took a step and his foot got stuck in his jeans, then fell forward onto the bed on his knees, but he was pretty sure he played it off as intentional; that is, until he started giggling. He yanked his jeans off, dropped them to the floor, and crawled up the bed.

He settled himself on Louis’ thighs and smoothed his shirt over his chest. Louis had asked him to leave it on, after all. He looked down at their cocks, both standing fully erect, then up to meet Louis’ gaze and whispered, “Hi.”

Louis’ fingers teased along the outside of Harry’s thighs, inching their way up until he reached the hem of Harry’s shirt. “I like this. You look amazing in it. So hot. Gorgeous.” Harry watched with hooded eyes as Louis traced around the edges of the flowers in the center, as his fingers trailed across his skin as he unbuttoned it slowly, then pushed it down and off his arms revealing his body completely.

Once his shirt was no longer between them, Harry lunged forward, pressing himself against Louis, trapping their cocks between them, needing to touch him with as much of his skin as possible. He dropped kisses along Louis’ shoulder and up the side of his neck and jaw until Harry nudged their noses together and their eyes met, the hunger Harry felt was reflected in Louis’ gaze, so he brought their lips together in a hot kiss. A moan escaped Louis’ mouth as Harry slipped his tongue inside, tasting him. Soon enough, they were rutting like animals, panting into each other’s mouths. Harry pulled away with a smacking kiss, his face hot and flushed, and stretched toward his bedside table drawer. He fumbled with the handle, then finally pulled it open and reached inside for lube and a condom.

Still sitting on top of Louis’ thighs, Harry slicked up his fingers and reached around behind himself, but stopped when Louis grabbed his arm.

“What are you doing?” Louis rushed out.

Wiggling the bottle of lube and raising his eyebrows, Harry said, “I want to ride you. Was going to prep myself because it’s faster.”

“Oh. Wow. Um, that sounds really fucking good.” Louis hummed and then admitted. “But actually, I was hoping you’d fuck me tonight.”

“Really? Do you not want to top?”

With a reassuring smile, Louis answered, “Oh, no, I mean I want to, I’m versatile, but, yeah, I just, can you ride me next time? Please? I’ve been thinking about you fucking me for two weeks, so, is that okay?”

Pretending to think about it, Harry pursed his lips and scrunched his nose, then purred, “What are you going to do for me? Hmm? I liked that ‘please’ just now, you sounded so sweet.”

“Do you want me to beg? I will.” Louis surged forward, catching Harry’s bottom lip between his own, sucking it into his mouth, then letting it go as he murmured against Harry’s mouth, “Please. I know you want to. You love my ass, Harry, I know you do.” He kissed Harry’s lips again, then slid his mouth along Harry’s jaw line to the spot right beneath the hinge of his jaw where he sucked at the skin. His lips brushed the shell of Harry’s ear as he whispered, “Please, it’ll be so good, so tight. I need it. Need to feel you inside me. Love your fingers so much, every time you’ve had them in me I’ve wanted you to fuck me so bad. Finger me, come on, open me up for you, get me dripping wet, then you can fuck me however you want. Please, baby.”

“Oh,” Harry choked out, “Okay. Jesus. Yeah.” Pushing himself off of Louis’ chest, their gazes locked as he crawled backwards until his knees were between Louis’ feet, then he let his eyes drop down to Louis’ perfect cock. He felt a short pang of disappointment that he wasn’t going to be able to ride it tonight, but it passed quickly enough when Louis rolled over onto his stomach and spread his legs to make room for Harry to sprawl between them.

With a hand on either cheek, Harry began to massage Louis’ ass, pressing it together and pulling it apart, watching the muscles tense and relax while Louis moaned. “This is going to be a little cold, but I gotta…” He flicked open the lube and drizzled it straight down Louis’ crease, then caught it on his fingers as it dripped down behind Louis’ balls and spread it around his hole, slowly pressing the tip of his finger inside. He circled his finger just inside, then gradually pushed forward all the way and began to pump in and out. It was fascinating to watch as Louis stretched to accommodate the second and then the third finger. He was right; Harry did love his ass. Leaning in close to get a better look, he turned his head and planted a wet, smacking kiss on Louis ass cheek as he twisted his hand, drawing a throaty groan from Louis.

Voice deep enough to surprise himself, Harry said, “Dripping wet, huh. Isn’t that what you said?” But Louis didn’t answer, instead he lifted his hips slightly, pushing back onto Harry’s hand, so Harry flipped open the lube with one hand and with the other he spread his fingers apart, opening Louis’ hole so that he could drizzle more lube inside him. He fucked him with his fingers, forcing the slickness further in until it was dribbling back out of him. Finally satisfied that he’d done what Louis had asked of him, he pulled his fingers free, rolled the condom on, slicked himself up, then lightly smacked his boyfriend’s ass. Boyfriend. He smiled, “On your back, Lou.”

It was a little bit of a struggle for Louis to roll over after such a thorough finger fucking, so Harry helped him, then rubbed his hands in circles on Louis’ thighs and squeezed them before sliding his hands under his knees, propping his legs up, and slipping a pillow under his bum. Louis’ face was pink and damp with sweat and there were lines on his cheek from the sheets, his dark eyes followed Harry’s movements as he inched forward on his knees until the front of his thighs met the backs of Louis’.

Louis reached up and trailed a finger down Harry’s chest. “Thought you’d want to do it the other way, since you love my ass so much.”

Shaking his head, Harry held his dick in one hand and steadied Louis with the other. “Since you said you’ve wanted this for so long, I want to watch your face while I give it to you.” Keeping his eyes locked on Louis’, he gently he nudged the head of his cock against Louis’ slippery opening until it popped inside. Louis hissed and then released the breath he’d been holding. As Harry gradually entered him, Louis’ mouth dropped open, his lashes fluttered, his eyes rolled back, and once Harry was balls deep inside of him, he let loose a groan that caused Harry’s heart to jump in his chest.

Louis was beautiful all the time, was the thing, but right now he was devastatingly gorgeous. Messy caramel colored hair stuck up on one side from lying on his front, his forehead was wrinkled from trying to force his body to relax and then slowly smoothed out as he adjusted to the intrusion of Harry’s cock, his face and chest were pink and shiny and damp with sweat, his lower lip caught in his teeth. Louis’ hands were clenching and releasing the sheets as if they were in tune with his pulse, and his stomach trembled. Harry’s gaze drifted down to where their bodies were connected and his breath caught in his throat. He grabbed Louis’ hands and pulled them away from the sheets, laced their fingers together, and pressed them into the mattress above his head as he loomed over him and began to move. Louis wrapped his legs around Harry’s waist, spurring him on.

Circling his hips, Harry drove his cock into Louis over and over again, and a strange, blissful ache spread through his chest and intensified with every sound that Louis made. Harry nipped at Louis’ lips, sucking at them, driving his tongue into his mouth in time with the thrusts of his cock. Louis’ dick was trapped between their bellies and he wiggled his hand loose from Harry’s grasp and slid it between them, gripping it tightly and attempting to wank it where it was, but it wasn’t working, so Harry kissed him once more, groaning into his mouth, and then pushed himself up and back onto his knees. The change in position must have brought Harry’s dick into the right position to rub against Louis’ spot because he cried out with each stroke, so Harry tried to keep up that position and pace, but sweat dripped down his temples and his hands were slick where they gripped Louis’ thighs; he knew he wouldn’t last much longer. He knocked Louis hand away and wrapped his fingers around him, pulling in rhythm with his fucking until Louis was keening, his back arched as he clenched around Harry’s cock and came all over Harry’s hand and his own belly. Harry fucked him through it, still watching his face as he rode it out. When his eyes opened and his body visibly relaxed, Harry pulled out, peeled off the condom and fell forward, holding himself up with one hand while he stripped his cock with the other. Louis surged up, tongue licking into Harry’s open mouth, biting at his lips, and mumbling into his mouth how good he was, how he’d never been fucked like that in his life, how he couldn’t wait for Harry to ride him, and Harry came, hot and hard, grunting as his come mixed with Louis’ on his belly.

Collapsing on top of him, Harry bumped their noses together, hummed against Louis’ lips, rubbed his cheek on Louis’ scruffy jaw, and whispered in his ear, “Happy New Year.”

Outside, fat, heavy, flakes of snow fell, billowing and whirling in the cold air, collecting in drifts, accumulating on the windowsill, and covering the ground in a thick blanket of white.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are lovely. Here's a [rebloggable Tumblr post](http://fullonlarrie.tumblr.com/post/154105582795/yours-in-fractions) if you'd like to share.
> 
> Come chat on [Tumblr!](http://fullonlarrie.tumblr.com)
> 
> If you liked it, check out [my other fics](http://archiveofourown.org/works?utf8=%E2%9C%93&commit=Sort+and+Filter&work_search%5Bsort_column%5D=word_count&work_search%5Bother_tag_names%5D=&work_search%5Bquery%5D=&work_search%5Blanguage_id%5D=&work_search%5Bcomplete%5D=0&user_id=FullOnLarrie).


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